Ecclesiastes 1
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1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: 1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!" 2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? 3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. 6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. 7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing. 8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. 9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there anything about which someone can say, "Look at this! It is new!"? It was already done long ago, before our time. 10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations. 11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied. 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile--like chasing the wind! 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. 15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge." 16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind! 17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache. 18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
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Proverbs 31
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