| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: | 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
| 2"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!" | 2"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." |
| 3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? | 3What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil 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, and 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 to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, 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 streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. |
| 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 say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of 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, 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 anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. |
| 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. | 11No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. |
| 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. | 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! |
| 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; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
| 15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened; 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, "Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much 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! | 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. |
| 18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache. | 18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. |
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