14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is (A)futility and striving after wind.

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14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A)

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14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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11 So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had [a]exerted, and behold, all was (A)futility and striving after wind, and there was (B)no benefit under the sun.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:11 Lit labored to do

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(A)
    nothing was gained under the sun.(B)

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11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

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17 So I (A)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was [a]unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:17 Lit evil

Toil Is Meaningless

17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A)

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17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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I have seen that every labor and every (A)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is (B)futility and striving after wind.

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And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A)

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Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

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One hand full of rest is (A)better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

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Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil(A)
    and chasing after the wind.

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Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

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16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him; for this too is (A)futility and striving after wind.

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16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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What the eyes (A)see is better than what the soul [a]desires. This too is (B)futility and striving after wind.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 6:9 Lit goes after

Better what the eye sees
    than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
    a chasing after the wind.(A)

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Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

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