The Future of Bible Study Is Here.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5
2 cVanity2 of vanities, says athe Preacher,
cvanity of vanities! dAll is vanity.
3 eWhat fdoes man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but gthe earth remains forever.
5 hThe sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens3 to the place where it rises.
c | |
2 | The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes |
a | |
d | |
e | |
f | |
g | |
h | |
3 | Or and returns panting |
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New International Version (2011) (NIV)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And hastens to the place where it arose.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New Century Version (NCV)
2 The Teacher says,
“Useless! Useless!
Completely useless!
Everything is useless.”
3 What do people really gain
from all the hard work they do here on earth?
4 People live, and people die,
but the earth continues forever.
5 The sun rises, the sun sets,
and then it hurries back to where it rises again.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 3 What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? 4 One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity. 3 What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever. 5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
2 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.”
3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
4 Generations come, and generations go,
but the earth lasts forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun sets,
and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise ⸤again⸥.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
3 What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to its place
where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition (NRSVue)
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What do people gain from all the toil
at which they toil under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down
and hurries to the place where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2 “Vanity of vanities!” says the Teacher,
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”
3 What does a person gain in all his toil
with which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
to its place it hurries, and there it rises again.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
2 “Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Everything is completely meaningless!
Nothing has any meaning.”
3 What does a man get for all of his work?
Why does he work so hard on this earth?
4 People come and people go.
But the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises. Then it sets.
And then it hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:2–5 — New American Standard Bible (1995) (NASB95)
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
3 What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.
5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hastening to its place it rises there again.
Sign Up to Use Our
Free Bible Study Tools
By registering for an account, you agree to Logos’ Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
|