Parallel Bible results for "Ecclesiastes 1"

Ecclesiastes 1

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 The words of the spokesman, the son of David and the king in Jerusalem.

2 "Absolutely pointless!" says the spokesman. "Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless."

3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?

4 Generations come, and generations go, but the earth lasts forever.

5 The sun rises, and the sun sets, and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise [again].

6 The wind blows toward the south and shifts toward the north. Round and round it blows. It blows in a full circle.

7 All 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.

8 All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand.

9 Whatever has happened before will happen [again]. Whatever has been done before will be done [again]. There is nothing new under the sun.

10 Can you say that anything is new? It has already been here long before us.

11 Nothing from the past is remembered. Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us.

12 I, the spokesman, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem.

13 With all my heart I used wisdom to study and explore everything done under heaven. Mortals are weighed down with a terrible burden that God has placed on them.

14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It's all pointless. [It's like] trying to catch the wind.

15 No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there.

16 I 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."

17 I'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.

18 With a lot of wisdom [comes] a lot of heartache. The greater [your] knowledge, the greater [your] pain.

New International Version NIV

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”

17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.