Ecclesiastes 1:2
Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
8 Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
1 ¶ Title The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
8 All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.
9 What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.
10 Is there anything about which someone can say,“Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.
11 No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.
12 Futility of Secular Accomplishment I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
15 What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
16 Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”
17 So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!
3 Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
4 A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.
10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.
11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
12 Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?
15 So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”
16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!
17 So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.
18 Futility of Being a Workaholic So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.
19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22 Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
1 Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.
2 I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!”
11 The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
16 There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.
7 Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
8 A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
20 Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.
4 Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.
7 All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!
8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?
9 It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile– like chasing the wind.
8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.
16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
10 Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
1 Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
14 Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”
22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
25 For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.
26 For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!
17 then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.