Side by side
Ecclesiastes 1
Our plain-language guide next to the Bible text. Each row lines up one section with the verses it explains.
Section 1: Everything Is FutileVerses 1 to 3
"Futility of futilities," says the Teacher, "futility of futilities! Everything is futile!" (1:2).
Everything is like a breath. Here, then gone.
"What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?" (1:3).
"Under the sun" means life on earth, seen from a human point of view.
1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” 3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
Section 2: Round and RoundVerses 4 to 11
Generations come and go. The earth stays.
The sun rises and sets. The wind blows round and round. Rivers flow into the sea, but the sea is never full.
"There is nothing new under the sun" (1:9).
People who came before are forgotten. We will be forgotten too.
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. 6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. 7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow. 8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. 9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us. 11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Section 3: Chasing the WindVerses 12 to 14
The Teacher tried to understand everything with wisdom.
"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind" (1:14).
Trying to hold on to it all is like trying to catch the wind.
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
Between sectionsVerses 15 to 18
This part isn't covered by the guide.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind. 18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
Your pair of translations is remembered on this device for other chapters.