Ecclesiastes 1 NIV CSB Parallel

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◄ Ecclesiastes 1 ►

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1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

2"Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Absolute futility. Everything is futile."

3What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

3What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at 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.

5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises.

6The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

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 streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams 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, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or 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.

9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; 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.

10Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages 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 those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.

12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

12I, the Teacher, 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!

13I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

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 things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

15What is crooked cannot be straightened; 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, "See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped 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.

17I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

New International Version (NIV)

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