| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
| 2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” | 2"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!" |
| 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? | 3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? |
| 4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. | 4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. |
| 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. |
| 6The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. | 6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. |
| 7All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. | 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. |
| 8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. | 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. |
| 9That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. | 9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. |
| 10Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. | 10Is there anything about which someone can say, "Look at this! It is new!"? It was already done long ago, before our time. |
| 11There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. | 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. |
| 12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. | 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. |
| 14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. | 14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile--like chasing the wind! |
| 15What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. | 15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. |
| 16I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.” | 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." |
| 17And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. | 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! |
| 18For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache. |
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