| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything Is Meaningless |
| 2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” | 2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” |
| 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? | 3What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? |
| 4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. | 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. |
| 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise 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 blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. |
| 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. | 7Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. |
| 8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. | 8Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. |
| 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. | 9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. |
| 10Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. | 10Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. |
| 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. | 11We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom |
| 12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived 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 devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. |
| 14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. | 14I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
| 15What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. | 15What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. |
| 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 am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” |
| 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 set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind. |
| 18For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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