| 1:1 | The words of the Teacher,* the son* of David, king* in Jerusalem:* |
| 1:2 | “Futile! Futile!” laments* the Teacher,* “Absolutely futile!* Everything* is futile!”* |
| 1:3 | What benefit* do people* get from all the effort which* they expend* on earth?* |
| 1:4 | A generation comes* and a generation goes,* but the earth remains* the same* through the ages.* |
| 1:5 | The sun rises* and the sun sets;* it hurries away* to a place from which it rises* again.* |
| 1:6 | The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round* the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.* |
| 1:7 | All the streams flow* into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.* |
| 1:8 | All this* monotony* is tiresome; no one can bear* to describe it:* The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content* with hearing. |
| 1:9 | What exists now* is what will be,* and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.* |
| 1:10 | Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”?* It was already* done long ago,* before our time.* |
| 1:11 | No one remembers the former events,* nor will anyone remember* the events that are yet to happen;* they will not be remembered by the future generations.* |
| 1:12 | I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.* |
| 1:13 | I decided* to carefully* and thoroughly examine* all that has been accomplished on earth.* I concluded:* God has given people* a burdensome task* that keeps them* occupied.* |
| 1:14 | I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man* on earth,* and I concluded: Everything* he has accomplished* is futile* – like chasing the wind!* |
| 1:15 | What is bent* cannot be straightened,* and what is missing* cannot be supplied.* |
| 1:16 | I thought to myself,* “I have become much wiser* than any of my predecessors who ruled* over Jerusalem;* I* have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”* |
| 1:17 | So I decided* to discern the benefit of* wisdom and knowledge over* foolish behavior and ideas;* however, I concluded* that even* this endeavor* is like* trying to chase the wind!* |
| 1:18 | For with great wisdom comes* great frustration; whoever increases his* knowledge merely* increases his* heartache. |
Ecclesiastes 1 - NET Bible [draft]
