Ecclesiastes 1:7-15
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 1
7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. 8All things are wearisome; No one can tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. 9What has been, it is what will be, And what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which one might say, 'See this, it is new'? It has already existed for ages Which were before us.
12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled.
14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is futility and striving after wind.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 1
7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. 9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us. 11There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.
12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
New Living Translation
Chapter 1
7Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10Sometimes people say, 'Here is something new!' But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
11We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.
English Standard Version
Chapter 1
7All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before us. 11There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. 12I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.New International Version
Chapter 1
7All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 8All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. 11No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
New King James Version
Chapter 1
7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. 8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.
12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.
14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
