Ecclesiastes 1
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New International VersionNew American Standard Bible 1995
1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
3What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?3What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.4A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
6The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.
8All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.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.
9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.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.
10Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.10Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.
11No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.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.
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I 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!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.
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.15What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I 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."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."
17Then 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.17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.
18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
New International Version (NIV)

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Proverbs 31
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