Preceding Generations Forgotten
(Job 11:1-20)
1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Everything Is Futile
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.
6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new?” It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
11 There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. 15 That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Everything Is Futile
1 These are the words of the Teacher, a the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Futility b of futilities,”
says the Teacher,
“futility of futilities!
Everything is futile!”
3 What does a man gain from all his labor,
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
it hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows southward,
then turns northward;
round and round it swirls,
ever returning on its course.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place from which the streams come,
there again they flow.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can describe;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear content with hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
and what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a case where one can say,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance
of those who came before,
and those yet to come will not be remembered
by those who follow after.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And 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!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I 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.”
17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow,
and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
Footnotes:
1 a Or the Convener or the Preacher or the leader of the assembly ; Hebrew Qoheleth is rendered as the Teacher throughout Ecclesiastes.
2 b Literally vapor or breath ; the Hebrew words translated in Ecclesiastes as forms of futile or fleeting can also be translated as vanity or meaningless .
Preceding Generations Forgotten
(Job 11:1-20)
1Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole is vanity.
3What advantage is to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?
4A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.
5Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.
6Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.
7All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.
8All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.
9What is that which hath been? it is that which is, and what is that which hath been done? it is that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
10There is a thing of which one saith: 'See this, it is new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!
11There is not a remembrance of former generations; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It is a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it. 14I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit! 15A crooked thing one is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
16I -- I spake with my heart, saying, 'I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge. 17And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this is vexation of spirit; 18for, in abundance of wisdom is abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'
