Ecclesiastes 1
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1These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything Is Meaningless1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
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.7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
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.8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
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 Wisdom11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
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.13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
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.”16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
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.17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
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.The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved.
Proverbs 31
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