Ecclesiastes 1
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Holman Christian Standard BibleNew Living Translation
1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem." 1These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything Is Meaningless
2Absolute futility," says the Teacher." Absolute futility. Everything is futile." 2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? 3What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to its place where it rises. 5The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. 6The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full. The streams are flowing to the place, and they flow there again. 7Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.
8All things are wearisome; man is unable to speak. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. 8Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. 9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10Can one say about anything," Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us. 10Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
11There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them. 11We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.13I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. 14I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. 15What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.
16I said to myself, "Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge." 16I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”
17I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. 17So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases. 18The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31
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