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The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 1 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Everything Is Futile

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:1

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The words of the Teacher,[fn] son of David, king in Jerusalem.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:2

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“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:3

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What does a person gain for all his efforts

that he labors at under the sun?

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:4

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A generation goes and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:5

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The sun rises and the sun sets;

panting, it hurries back to the place

where it rises.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:6

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Gusting to the south,

turning to the north,

turning, turning, goes the wind,

and the wind returns in its cycles.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:7

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All the streams flow to the sea,

yet the sea is never full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:8

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All things[fn] are wearisome,

more than anyone can say.

The eye is not satisfied by seeing

or the ear filled with hearing.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:9

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What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done;

there is nothing new under the sun.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:10

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Can one say about anything,

“Look, this is new”?

It has already existed in the ages before us.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:11

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There is no remembrance of those who[fn] came before;

and of those who will come after

there will also be no remembrance

by those who follow them.

The Limitations of Wisdom

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:12

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I, the Teacher, have been[fn] king over Israel in Jerusalem.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:13

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I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people[fn] this miserable task to keep them occupied.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:14

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I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:15

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What is crooked cannot be straightened;

what is lacking cannot be counted.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:16

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I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped[fn] wisdom and knowledge.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:17

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I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 1:18

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For with much wisdom is much sorrow;

as knowledge increases, grief increases.

See the CSB Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
CSB Footnotes
Or of Qoheleth, or of the Leader of the Assembly
Or words
Or of the things that
Or Teacher, was
Or given the descendants of Adam
Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit ; also in v. 17
Or discerned
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras