Ecclesiastes 1; Ecclesiastes 2; Ecclesiastes 3; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

1 These are the words of the Teacher. He was the son of David. He was also king in Jerusalem.

2 "Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is completely meaningless! Nothing has any meaning."

3 What does a man get for all of his work? Why does he work so hard on this earth?

4 People come and people go. But the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises. Then it sets. And then it hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south. Then it turns to the north. Around and around it goes. It always returns to where it started.

7 Every stream flows into the ocean. But the ocean never gets full. The streams return to the place they came from.

8 All things are tiresome. They are more tiresome than anyone can say. But our eyes never see enough of anything. Our ears never hear enough.

9 Everything that has ever been will come back again. Everything that has ever been done will be done again. Nothing is new on earth.

10 There isn't anything about which someone can say, "Look! Here's something new." It was already here long ago. It was here before we were.

11 No one remembers the men of long ago. Even those who haven't been born yet won't be remembered by those who will be born after them.

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

13 I spent all of my time studying. I used my wisdom to check everything out. I looked into everything that is done on earth. What a heavy load God has put on men!

14 I've seen what is done on this earth. It doesn't have any meaning. It's like chasing the wind.

15 People can't straighten things that are twisted. They can't count things that don't even exist.

16 I said to myself, "Look, my wisdom has really been growing. In fact, I'm now wiser than anyone who ruled over Jerusalem in the past. I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge."

17 Then I used my mind to understand what it really means to be wise. And I wanted to know what foolish pleasure is all about. But I found out that that's also like chasing the wind.

18 A lot of human wisdom leads to a lot of sorrow. More knowledge only brings more sadness.

1 I said to myself, "Come on. I'll put pleasure to the test. I want to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.

2 "Laughter is foolish," I said. "And what can pleasure do for me?"

3 I tried cheering myself up by drinking wine. I even tried living in a foolish way. But wisdom was still guiding my mind. I wanted to see what was really important for men to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

4 So I started some large projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards.

5 I made gardens and parks. I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

6 I made lakes to water groves of healthy trees.

7 I bought male and female slaves. And I had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem ever had before.

8 I stored up silver and gold for myself. I gathered up the treasures of kings and their kingdoms. I got some male and female singers. I also got many women for myself. Women delight the hearts of men.

9 I became far more important than anyone in Jerusalem had ever been before. And in spite of everything, I didn't lose my wisdom.

10 I gave myself everything my eyes wanted. There wasn't any pleasure that I refused to give myself. I took delight in everything I did. And that was what I got for all of my work.

11 But then I looked over everything my hands had done. I saw what I had worked so hard to get. And nothing had any meaning. It was like chasing the wind. Nothing was gained on this earth.

12 I decided to think about wisdom. I also thought about foolish pleasure. What more can a new king do? Can he do anything more than others have already done?

13 I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.

14 The eyes of a wise man see things clearly. A person who is foolish lives in darkness. But I finally realized that death catches up with both of them.

15 Then I thought, "What happens to a foolish person will catch up with me too. So what do I gain by being wise?" I said to myself, "That doesn't have any meaning either."

16 Like a foolish person, a wise man won't be remembered very long. In days to come, both of them will be forgotten. Like a person who is foolish, a wise man must die too!

17 So I hated life. That's because the work that is done on this earth made me sad. None of it has any meaning. It's like chasing the wind.

18 I hated everything I had worked for on earth. I'll have to leave all of it to someone who lives after me.

19 And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he'll take over everything on earth I've worked so hard for. That doesn't have any meaning either.

20 So I began to lose hope because of all of my hard work on this earth.

21 A man might use wisdom, knowledge and skill to do his work. But then he has to leave everything he owns to someone who hasn't worked for it. That doesn't have any meaning either. In fact, it isn't fair.

22 What does a man get for all of his hard work on earth? What does he get for all of his worries?

23 As long as he lives, his work is nothing but pain and sorrow. Even at night his mind can't rest. That doesn't have any meaning either.

24 A man can't do anything better than eat and drink and be satisfied with his work. I'm finally seeing that those things also come from the hand of God.

25 Without his help, who can eat or find pleasure?

26 God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness to a man who pleases him. But to a sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth. Then the sinner must hand it over to the one who pleases God. That doesn't have any meaning either. It's like chasing the wind.

1 There is a time for everything. There's a time for everything that is done on earth.

2 There is a time to be born. And there's a time to die. There is a time to plant. And there's a time to pull up what is planted.

3 There is a time to kill. And there's a time to heal. There is a time to tear down. And there's a time to build up.

4 There is a time to cry. And there's a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there's a time to dance.

5 There is a time to scatter stones. And there's a time to gather them. There is a time to hug. And there's a time not to hug.

6 There is a time to search. And there's a time to stop searching. There is a time to keep. And there's a time to throw away.

7 There is a time to tear. And there's a time to mend. There is a time to be silent. And there's a time to speak.

8 There is a time to love. And there's a time to hate. There is a time for war. And there's a time for peace.

9 What does the worker get for his hard work?

10 I've seen the heavy load God has put on men.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also given men a sense of what he's been doing down through the ages. But they can't completely figure out what he's done from the beginning to the end.

12 They should be happy and do good while they live. I know there's nothing better for them to do than that.

13 Everyone should eat and drink. People should be satisfied with all of their hard work. That is God's gift to them.

14 I know that everything God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it. And nothing can be taken from it. God does that so men will have respect for him.

15 Everything that now exists has already been. And what is coming has existed before. God will judge those who treat others badly.

16 Here's something else I saw on earth. Where people should be treated right, they are treated wrong. Where people should be treated fairly, they are treated unfairly.

17 I said to myself, "God will judge godly and sinful people alike. He has a time for every act. He has a time for everything that is done."

18 I also thought, "God puts human beings to the test. Then they can see they are just like animals.

19 What happens to animals happens to people too. Death waits for people and animals alike. People die, just as animals do. All of them have the same breath. People don't have any advantage over animals. Nothing has any meaning.

20 "People and animals go to the same place. All of them come from dust. And all of them return to dust.

21 Who can know whether the spirit of a man goes up? Who can tell whether the spirit of an animal goes down into the earth?"

22 So man should enjoy his work. That's what God made him for. I saw that there's nothing better for him to do than that. After all, who can show him what will happen after he is gone?

16 I will say it again. Don't let anyone think I'm a fool. But if you do, receive me just as you would receive a fool. Then I can do a little bragging.

17 When I brag about myself like this, I'm not talking the way the Lord would. I'm talking like a fool.

18 Many are bragging the way the people of the world do. So I will brag like that too.

19 You are so wise! You gladly put up with fools!

20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who makes you a slave or uses you. You put up with those who take advantage of you. You put up with those who claim to be better than you. You put up with those who slap you in the face.

21 I'm ashamed to have to say that I was too weak for that! What anyone else dares to brag about, I also dare to brag about. I'm speaking like a fool!

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Do they belong to the people of Israel? So do I. Are they Abraham's children? So am I.

23 Are they serving Christ? I am serving him even more. I'm out of my mind to talk like this! I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have suffered terrible beatings. Again and again I almost died.

24 Five times the Jews gave me 39 strokes with a whip.

25 Three times I was beaten with sticks. Once they tried to kill me by throwing stones at me. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

26 I have had to keep on the move. I have been in danger from rivers. I have been in danger from robbers. I have been in danger from people from my own country. I have been in danger from those who aren't Jews. I have been in danger in the city, in the country, and at sea. I have been in danger from people who pretended they were believers.

27 I have worked very hard. Often I have gone without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. Often I have gone without food. I have been cold and naked.

28 Besides everything else, every day I am concerned about all the churches. It is a very heavy load.

29 If anyone is weak, I feel weak. If anyone is led into sin, I burn on the inside.

30 If I have to brag, I will brag about the things that show how weak I am.

31 I am not lying. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows this. May God be praised forever.

32 In Damascus the governor who served under King Aretas had their city guarded. He wanted to arrest me.

33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall. So I slipped through the governor's hands.