| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
| 2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” | 2"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." |
| 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? | 3What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? |
| 4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. | 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. |
| 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. |
| 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 blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. |
| 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 streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return 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, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of 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 has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; 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 can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here 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 generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. |
| 12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, was 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 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 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 things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
| 15What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened; 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, "Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much 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. | 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 in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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