All Is Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1

1 The words of a the Preacher, 1 the son of David, b king in Jerusalem.

2 c Vanity 2 of vanities, says a the Preacher,
c vanity of vanities! d All is vanity.
 3 e What f does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but g the earth remains forever.
 5 h The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens 3 to the place where it rises.
 6 i The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
 7 All j streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
 8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
k the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
 9 l 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.
 10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
"See, this is new"?
It has been m already
in the ages before us.
 11 There is no n remembrance of former things, 4
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things 5 yet to be
among those who come after.

  1. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 1:12
    I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
    Ecclesiastes 7:27
    Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things -
    Ecclesiastes 12:8 - 10
    Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
  2. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 1:12
    I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
  3. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 12:8
    Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
  4. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 12:8
    Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
  5. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 1:1
    The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
  6. Cross References
    Romans 8:20
    For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
  7. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 1:14
    I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
    Psalms 144:4
    Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
    Job 7:16
    I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
    Psalms 39:5
    Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
  8. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 2:11
    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 striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
    Ecclesiastes 2:22
    What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
    Ecclesiastes 3:9
    What gain has the worker from his toil?
    Ecclesiastes 5:16
    This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?
  9. Cross References
    Psalms 104:5
    He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.
    Psalms 119:90
    Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 19:4 - 6
    Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun.
  11. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 11:5
    As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
    John 3:8
    The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 104:8 - 9
    The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
  13. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 4:8
    One person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
    Proverbs 27:20
    Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
  14. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 3:15
    That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
    Ecclesiastes 6:10
    Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
    Ecclesiastes 2:12
    So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
  15. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 3:15
    That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
  16. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 2:16
    For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!
    Ecclesiastes 9:5
    For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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