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Ecclesiastes 1
Expanded Bible
Ecclesiastes 1
Expanded Bible
1 These are the words of the ·Teacher [or Preacher; L Assembler; C of a group], a son of David, king in Jerusalem [C an allusion to Solomon].
2 The ·Teacher [or Preacher; L Assembler; 1:1] says,
“·Useless [Meaningless; or Absurd; or Enigmatic; or Transient; T Vanity; L Vapor; Bubble; C and so throughout this book]! Useless!
Completely useless!
Everything is useless.”
3 What do people really ·gain [profit]
from all the ·hard work [toil] they do ·here on earth [L under the sun]?
Things Never Change
4 ·People live [L A generation goes], and ·people die [L a generation comes],
but the earth ·continues [endures; remains] forever.
5 The sun rises, the sun sets,
and then it ·hurries back [L pants] to where it rises again [Ps. 19:5–6].
6 ·The wind [L It] blows to the south;
it ·blows [L goes around] to the north.
·It blows from one direction and then another [L The wind goes round and round].
·Then it turns around and repeats the same pattern, going nowhere [L The wind keeps blowing in circles].
7 All the rivers flow to the sea,
but the sea never becomes full.
The rivers return to the place from which they flow.
8 Everything is ·boring [wearisome],
·so boring that you don’t even want to talk about it [L beyond words].
·Words come again and again to our ears,
but we never hear enough [L The ear is never satisfied with hearing],
nor ·can we ever really see all we want to see [L the eye with seeing].
9 ·All things continue the way they have been since the beginning [L Whatever is will be again].
What has happened will happen again;
there is nothing new ·here on earth [L under the sun; v. 3].
10 ·Someone might say [L Here is a common expression],
“Look, this is new,”
but ·really it has always been here [it was already here long ago].
It ·was here before we were [existed before our time].
11 ·People don’t remember what happened long ago [L There is no remembrance of the past],
·and in the future people will not remember what happens now [L nor will there be any remembrance of what will be in the future].
·Even later, other people will not remember what was done before them [L There is no remembrance of them among those who will exist in the future].
Does Wisdom Bring Happiness?
12 I, the ·Teacher [or Preacher; L Assembler; 1:1], ·was [or have been] king over Israel in Jerusalem [1:1]. 13 I ·decided [devoted myself] to use my wisdom to ·learn [explore] about everything that happens ·on earth [L under heaven; v. 3]. I learned that God has given ·us terrible things to face [or the human race an evil/unhappy task to keep us occupied]. 14 I ·looked at [observed] everything done ·on earth [L under the sun; v. 3] and saw that it is all useless [v. 2], like chasing the wind.
15 If something is ·crooked [bent],
you can’t make it straight.
If something is missing,
you can’t ·say it is there [L count it; C something is wrong with the world and it cannot be fixed].
16 I ·said to myself [L spoke with/to my heart], “I have ·become very wise and am now wiser than [surpassed in wisdom] anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. I ·know what wisdom and knowledge really are [L have observed much wisdom and knowledge].” 17 So I ·decided to find out about [L gave my heart to understand] wisdom and knowledge and also ·about foolish thinking [madness and folly], but this turned out to be like chasing the wind.
18 With much wisdom comes much ·disappointment [frustration];
the person who gains more knowledge also gains more ·sorrow [pain].
Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”(C)
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;(I)
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.(K)
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(S) and also of madness and folly,(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.