Ecclesiastes 1
1
1 The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David, the king of Jerusalem.
2 Ecclesiastes said: Vanity of vanities! Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity!
3 What more does a man have from all his labor, as he labors under the sun?
4 A generation passes away, and a generation arrives. But the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises and sets; it returns to its place, and from there, being born again,
6 it circles through the south, and arcs toward the north. The spirit continues on, illuminating everything in its circuit, and turning again in its cycle.
7 All rivers enter into the sea, and the sea does not overflow. To the place from which the rivers go out, they return, so that they may flow again.
8 Such things are difficult; man is not able to explain them with words. The eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor is the ear fulfilled by hearing.
9 What is it that has existed? The same shall exist in the future. What is it that has been done? The same shall continue to be done.
10 There is nothing new under the sun. Neither is anyone able to say: "Behold, this is new!" For it has already been brought forth in the ages that were before us.
11 There is no remembrance of the former things. Indeed, neither shall there be any record of past things in the future, for those who will exist at the very end.
12 I, Ecclesiastes, was king of Israel at Jerusalem.
13 And I was determined in my mind to seek and to investigate wisely, concerning all that is done under the sun. God has given this very difficult task to the sons of men, so that they may be occupied by it.
14 I have seen all that is done under the sun, and behold: all is emptiness and an affliction of the spirit.
15 The perverse are unwilling to be corrected, and the number of the foolish is boundless.
16 I have spoken in my heart, saying: "Behold, I have achieved greatness, and I have surpassed all the wise who were before me in Jerusalem." And my mind has contemplated many things wisely, and I have learned.
17 And I have dedicated my heart, so that I may know prudence and doctrine, and also error and foolishness. Yet I recognize that, in these things also, there is hardship, and affliction of the spirit.
18 Because of this, with much wisdom there is also much anger. And whoever adds knowledge, also adds hardship.
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Ecclesiastes 1: CPDV
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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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