Ecclesiastes 1
1
1These are the words of the Teacher. He is a son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2The Teacher says,
“Useless! Useless!
Completely useless!
All things are useless.”
3What do people really gain
from all the hard work they do here on earth?
Things Never Change
4People live, and people die.
But the earth continues forever.
5The sun rises, and the sun sets.
Then it hurries back to the place where it rises again.
6The wind blows to the south.
Then it blows to the north.
It blows from one direction and then another.
Then it turns around and repeats the same pattern, going nowhere.
7All the rivers flow to the sea.
But the sea never becomes full.
8Everything is boring.
It makes you so tired you don’t even want to talk about it.
Words come again and again to our ears.
But we never can hear enough.
Nor can we ever really see all we want to see.
9All things continue the way they have been since the beginning.
The same things will be done that have always been done.
There is nothing new here on earth.
10A person might say,
“Look, this is new!”
But really it has always been here.
It was here before we were!
11People don’t remember what happened long ago.
In the future, people will not remember what happens now.
And later, other people will not remember what was done before them.
Does Wisdom Bring Happiness?
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13I decided to use my wisdom. I wanted to learn about everything that happens here on earth. I learned that God has given us terrible things to face here on earth. 14I looked at everything done here on earth. I saw that it is all a waste of time. It is like chasing the wind.
15If something is crooked,
you can’t make it straight.
If something is missing,
you can’t say it is there.
16I said to myself, “I have become very wise. I am now wiser than anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are.” 17So I decided to find out how wisdom and knowledge are better than foolish thinking. But I learned that trying to become wise is also like chasing the wind.
18With much wisdom comes much disappointment.
The person who gains more knowledge also gains more sorrow.
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Ecclesiastes 1: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 1
1
Introducing the Spokesman
1The words of the spokesman, the son of David and the king in Jerusalem.
The Theme
2“Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.”
Life Is an Endless Circle
3What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
4Generations come, and generations go,
but the earth lasts forever.
5The sun rises, and the sun sets,
and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise ⌞again⌟.
6The wind blows toward the south and shifts toward the north.
Round and round it blows. It blows in a full circle.
7All streams flow into the sea, but the sea is never full.
The water goes back to the place where the streams began
in order to ⌞start⌟ flowing again.
8All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand.
9Whatever has happened before will happen ⌞again⌟. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌞again⌟. There is nothing new under the sun. 10Can you say that anything is new? It has already been here long before us. 11Nothing from the past is remembered. Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Everything under Heaven
12I, the spokesman, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. 13With all my heart I used wisdom to study and explore everything done under heaven.
The Spokesman’s General Conclusion
Mortals are weighed down with a terrible burden that God has placed on them. 14I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It’s all pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
15No one can straighten what is bent.
No one can count what is not there.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Life
16I thought to myself, “I have grown wiser than anyone who ⌞has ruled⌟ Jerusalem before me. I’ve had a lot of experience with wisdom and knowledge.” 17I’ve used my mind to understand wisdom and knowledge as well as madness and stupidity. ⌞Now⌟ I know that this is ⌞like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
18With a lot of wisdom ⌞comes⌟ a lot of heartache.
The greater ⌞your⌟ knowledge, the greater ⌞your⌟ pain.
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