Ecclesiastes 1
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New American Standard Bible 1995New Living Translation
1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.1These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything Is Meaningless
2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does 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.
5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.5The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.6The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow 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 not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is 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.
9That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.10Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
11There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.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 Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.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 works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after 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 and what is lacking cannot be counted.15What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.
16I said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of 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.”
17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after 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.
18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.18The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.orgHoly 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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