New American Standard Bible 2020

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

12I, the 1Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I 2set my 3mind to seek and 4explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a 5 6sorry 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 7futility and striving after wind. 15What is 8crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16I 9said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased 10wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my 11mind has observed 12a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17And I 13applied my 14mind to know wisdom and to 15know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is 16striving after wind. 18Because 17in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 1

Notes

1. Ecclesiastes 1:12 Eccl 1:1; 7:27; 12:8-10 ↩
2. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Eccl 1:17 ↩
3. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart ↩
4. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Eccl 3:10, 11; 7:25; 8:17 ↩
5. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit evil ↩
6. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Eccl 2:23, 26; 3:10; 4:8 ↩
7. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Eccl 2:11, 17; 4:4; 6:9 ↩
8. Ecclesiastes 1:15 Eccl 7:13 ↩
9. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit spoke with my heart, saying ↩
10. Ecclesiastes 1:16 1 Kin 3:12; 4:30; 10:23; Eccl 2:9 ↩
11. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit heart ↩
12. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit an abundance ↩
13. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Eccl 1:13; 7:25 ↩
14. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Lit heart ↩
15. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Eccl 2:12; 7:25 ↩
16. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Eccl 1:14; 2:11, 17; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9 ↩
17. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Eccl 2:23; 12:12 ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1