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The Futility of All Endeavors

The words of the ^aPreacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “^aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.“Vanity of vanities! All that is done without God’s guidance is vanity futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind.” Rom 8:20

3 ^aWhat advantage does man have from all his workWhich he does ¹under the sun (while earthbound) ?4 One generation goes and another generation comes,But the ^aearth remains forever. Ps 119:905 ^aAlso, the sun rises and the sun sets;And hurries to the place where it rises again.6 The wind ^ablows toward the south,Then circles toward the north;The wind circles and swirls endlessly,And on its circular course the wind returns. John 3:87 All the rivers flow into the sea,Yet the sea is not full.To the place where the rivers flow,There they flow again.8 All things are wearisome and all words are frail;Man cannot express it.^aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing. Prov 27:209 ^aThat which has been is that which will be again,And that which has been done is that which will be done again.So there is nothing new under the sun.10 Is there anything of which it can be said,“See this, it is new”?It has already existed for the vast ages of time recorded or unrecordedWhich were before us.11 There is ^ano remembrance of earlier things,Nor also of the later things that are to come;There will be for them no remembranceBy generations who will come after them.

The Futility of Wisdom

12 I, the ^aPreacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I ^aset my mind to ^bseek and explore by man’s ¹wisdom all human activity that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable ^cbusiness and a burdensome task which ²God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ^avanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind. 15 What is ^acrooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.

16 I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great human ^awisdom and experience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of moral wisdom and scientific knowledge.” 17 And I ^aset my mind to know practical wisdom and to ^bdiscern the character of madness and folly in which men seem to find satisfaction; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and ^cchasing after the wind. 1+@Thess 5:21 18 For ^ain much human wisdom there is much displeasure and exasperation; increasing knowledge increases sorrow.

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All Is Vanity

The words of the ¹^aPreacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “¹^aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,“²Vanity of vanities! All is ³vanity.”

3 ^aWhat advantage does man have in all his laborIn which he labors under the sun?4 A generation goes and a generation comes,But the ^aearth stands forever.5 Also, ^athe sun rises and the sun sets;And ¹hastening to its place it rises there again.6 ^aGoing toward the south,Then ¹circling toward the north,The wind goes ²circling along;And on its circular courses the wind returns.7 All the rivers go into the sea,Yet the sea is not full.To the place where the rivers go,There they ¹continually go.8 All things are wearisome;Man is not able to speak of it.^aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing.9 ^aThat 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.10 Is there anything of which one might say,“See this, it is new”?Already it has been for agesWhich were before us.11 There is ^ano remembrance of ¹earlier things;And also of the ²later things which will be,There will be for them no remembranceAmong those who will come ³later still.

The Vanity of Wisdom

12 I, the ^aPreacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I ^agave my heart to seek and ^bexplore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is ¹a grievous ^cendeavor which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ¹^avanity and striving after wind. 15 What is ^abent cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I spoke within my heart, saying, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^awisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my heart has seen an abundance of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I ^agave my heart to know wisdom and to ^bknow madness and simpleminded folly; I came to know that this also is ^cstriving after wind. 18 Because ^ain much wisdom there is much vexation, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.

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The Futility of All Endeavor

The words of the ^aPreacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “¹^aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,“²Vanity of vanities! All is ³vanity.”

3 ^aWhat advantage does man have in all his workWhich he does under the sun?4 A generation goes and a generation comes,But the ^aearth ¹remains forever.5 Also, ^athe sun rises and the sun sets;And ¹hastening to its place it rises there again.6 ¹^aBlowing toward the south,Then turning toward the north,The wind continues ²swirling along;And on its circular courses the wind returns.7 All the rivers ¹flow into the sea,Yet the sea is not full.To the place where the rivers ²flow,There they ³flow again.8 All things are wearisome;Man is not able to tell it.^aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing.9 ^aThat 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.10 Is there anything of which one might say,“See this, it is new”?Already it has existed for agesWhich were before us.11 There is ^ano remembrance of ¹earlier things;And also of the ²later things which will occur,There will be for them no remembranceAmong those who will come ³later still.

The Futility of Wisdom

12 I, the ^aPreacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I ^aset my ¹mind to seek and ^bexplore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is ²a grievous ^ctask which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ¹^avanity and striving after wind. 15 What is ^acrooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I ¹said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^awisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my ²mind has observed ³a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I ^aset my ¹mind to know wisdom and to ^bknow madness and folly; I realized that this also is ^cstriving after wind. 18 Because ^ain much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

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The Futility of All Endeavors

The words of the ^aPreacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “^aFutility of futilities,” says the Preacher,“Futility of futilities! All is futility.”

3 ^aWhat advantage does a person have in all his workWhich he does under the sun?4 A generation goes and a generation comes,But the ^aearth ¹remains forever.5 Also, ^athe sun rises and the sun sets;And ¹hurrying to its place it rises there again.6 ¹^aBlowing toward the south,Then turning toward the north,The wind continues ²swirling along;And on its circular courses the wind returns.7 All the rivers ¹flow into the sea,Yet the sea is not full.To the place where the rivers ²flow,There they ³flow again.8 All things are wearisome;No one can tell it.^aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing.9 ^aWhat has been, it is what will be,And what has been done, it is what will be done.So there is nothing new under the sun.10 Is there anything of which one might say,“See this, it is new”?It has already existed for agesWhich were before us.11 There is ^ano remembrance of the ¹earlier things,And of the later things as well, which will occur,There will be no remembrance of themAmong those who will come later still.

The Futility of Wisdom

12 I, the ^aPreacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I ^aset my ¹mind to seek and ^bexplore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a ²^csorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ^afutility and striving after wind. 15 What is ^acrooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I ¹said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^awisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my ²mind has observed ³a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I ^aapplied my ¹mind to know wisdom and to ^bknow insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is ^cstriving after wind. 18 Because ^ain much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.