Welcome to our website where we explore the Bible! Pleasure to meet you here!
May your journey into the world of the Holy Scriptures be engaging and inspiring!
You can change reading language: uk ru
Parallel
New American Standard Bible
New Living Translation
The Futility of All Endeavor
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
Everything Is Meaningless
“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
Which he does under the sun?
What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.
But the earth remains forever.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hastening to its place it rises there again.
And hastening to its place it rises there again.
The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
Rivers 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.
All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
Man is not able to tell it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
That 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.
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
There 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.
And also of the later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come later still.
We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
The Futility of Wisdom
I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
And 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.
I 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.
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.
What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
I 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.”
I 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.”
And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.
So 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.