| New King James Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
| 2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” | 2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." |
| 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? | 3What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? |
| 4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. | 4A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. |
| 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. | 5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. |
| 6The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. | 6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind 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 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 full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with 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. |
| 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. | 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 it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. | 10Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. |
| 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. | 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 Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Preacher, 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. | 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 works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for 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 made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. |
| 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 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." |
| 17And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for 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 in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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