All Is Vanity

1 The words of the ^aPreacher,¹ the ^bson of David, king in Jerusalem.

The Vanity of Wisdom

12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I ^japplied my heart⁶ to seek and to ^ksearch out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an ^lunhappy ^mbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity⁷ and a ⁿstriving after wind.⁸

16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, ^psurpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know ^qmadness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; ^senjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.⁹ 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to ^tcheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on ^ufolly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the ^vfew days of their life. 4 I made great works. I ^wbuilt houses and planted ^xvineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also ^ygreat possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and ^zgold and the ^atreasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, ^bboth men and women, and ^cmany concubines,¹⁰ the delight of the sons of man.

9 So I became great and ^dsurpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my ^ereward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a ^fstriving after wind, and there was nothing to be ^ggained under the sun.

The Vanity of Living Wisely

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and ^hmadness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? ⁱOnly what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in ^jwisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. ^kAnd yet I perceived that ^lthe same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring ^mremembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How ⁿthe wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Toil

18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^oleave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the ^ptoil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For ^qall his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

24 ^rThere is nothing better for a person than that he should ^seat and drink and find enjoyment¹¹ in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him¹² who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, ^tonly to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

A Time for Everything

1 For everything there is a season, and ^ua time for every matter under heaven:

The God-Given Task

9 What ^vgain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the ^wbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that ^xhe cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that ^ythere is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to ^zdo good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should ^aeat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—^bthis is God’s gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people ^cfear before him. 15 ^dThat which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.¹³

From Dust to Dust

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of ^ejustice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, ^fGod will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but ^gbeasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.¹⁴ 20 ^hAll go to one place. All are ⁱfrom the dust, and ^jto dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man ^kgoes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that ^lthere is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his ^mlot. ⁿWho can bring him to see what will be after him?

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would¹ but as a fool. 18 Since many boast according to the ^kflesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with ^lfools, being wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone ^mmakes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, ⁿwe were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they ^oHebrews? ^pSo am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ^qservants of Christ? ^rI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with ^sfar greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews ^tthe forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was ^ubeaten with rods. Once I was ^vstoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^wdanger from my own people, ^xdanger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,² in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my ^yweakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that ^zI am not lying. 32 ^aAt Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.