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Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1

1:1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

Everything Is Meaningless

2 "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless!"
3 What do people get for all their hard work?
4 Generations come and go, but nothing really changes.
5 The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again.
6 The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
7 The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea.
8 Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10 What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn't already exist long ago?
11 We don't remember what happened in those former times. And in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

The Futility of Wisdom

12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14 Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be righted. What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, "Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them."
17 So I worked hard to distinguish wisdom from foolishness. But now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind.
18 For the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 2

2:1 The Futility of Pleasure

I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
2 "It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. "What good does it do to seek only pleasure?"
3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.
5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me.
8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things.
10 Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors.
11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

The Wise and the Foolish

12 So I decided to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusions I did.
13 Wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
14 For the wise person sees, while the fool is blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish people share the same fate.
15 Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, "This is all so meaningless!"
16 For the wise person and the fool both die, and in the days to come, both will be forgotten.

The Futility of Work

17 So now I hate life because everything done here under the sun is so irrational. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
18 I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others.
19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? And yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work. How meaningless!
20 So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life.
21 For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish but highly unfair.
22 So what do people get for all their hard work? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless.
24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that this pleasure is from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?
26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 3

3:1 A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,a season for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to lose.A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work?
10 I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do.
11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.
12 So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can.
13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him.
15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn.

The Injustices of Life

16 I also noticed that throughout the world there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!
17 I said to myself, "In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds."
18 Then I realized that God allows people to continue in their sinful ways so he can test them. That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better than animals.
19 For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
20 Both go to the same place — the dust from which they came and to which they must return.
21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth?
22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.

Ecclesiastes 4

4:1 Again I observed all the oppression that takes place in our world. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and the victims are helpless.
2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living.
3 And most fortunate of all are those who were never born. For they have never seen all the evil that is done in our world.