Ecclesiastes 1:2

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

“Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

Additional Resources

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Rom 8:20 : 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in hope
  • Eccl 12:8 : 8 'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'
  • Ps 39:5-6 : 5 LORD, let me know my end and the number of my days, so I may understand how fleeting my life is. 6 Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely, every man is but a breath. Selah.
  • Ps 144:4 : 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
  • Ps 62:9-9 : 9 Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Selah. 10 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.
  • Eccl 2:11 : 11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
  • Eccl 2:15 : 15 Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'
  • Eccl 2:17 : 17 So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 2:19 : 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.
  • Eccl 2:21 : 21 For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
  • Eccl 2:23 : 23 All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
  • Eccl 2:26 : 26 To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 3:19 : 19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.
  • Eccl 4:4 : 4 And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!
  • Eccl 4:16 : 16 There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 5:10 : 10 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
  • Eccl 6:11 : 11 The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?
  • Eccl 11:8 : 8 For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.
  • Eccl 11:10 : 10 Remove vexation from your heart and put away distress from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are fleeting.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 12:8
    92%

    8 'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'

  • Eccl 1:1
    89%

    1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

  • Eccl 1:8-17
    10 verses
    86%

    8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

    9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; 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, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

    12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

    13 I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14 I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

    16 I said to myself, 'Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.'

    17 Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 1:3-4
    2 verses
    84%

    3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

    4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

  • Eccl 2:10-12
    3 verses
    84%

    10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts.

    11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12 So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

  • Eccl 2:15-23
    9 verses
    82%

    15 Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

    16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

    17 So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    18 I hated all my toil under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

    19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

    20 So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21 For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22 What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

    23 All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

  • Eccl 2:1-2
    2 verses
    80%

    1 I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

    2 I said of laughter, 'It is madness,' and of joy, 'What does it accomplish?'

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    80%

    11 The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 4:16
    79%

    16 There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    79%

    7 Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

    8 There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

  • Eccl 3:19-20
    2 verses
    76%

    19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.

    20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

  • Eccl 4:4
    76%

    4 And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:7-9
    3 verses
    76%

    7 All human toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.

    8 What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

    9 Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 11:8
    74%

    8 For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Eccl 5:16
    74%

    16 Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

  • Eccl 8:10
    74%

    10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who used to go in and out of the holy place, but now they are forgotten in the city where they acted this way. This too is meaningless.

  • Ps 39:6
    74%

    6 Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely, every man is but a breath. Selah.

  • Eccl 6:1
    74%

    1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

  • Eccl 8:14
    73%

    14 There is a futility that takes place on the earth: righteous people receive what the wicked deserve, and wicked people receive what the righteous deserve. I said, 'This too is vanity.'

  • Eccl 3:22
    73%

    22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 3:15
    73%

    15 Whatever has already been, and what will be has already been; and God seeks what has been pursued.

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    72%

    25 For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26 To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 8:17
    72%

    17 then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.