Ecclesiastes 1:14
ContextNETBible | I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man 1 on earth, 2 and I concluded: Everything 3 he has accomplished 4 is futile 5 – like chasing the wind! 6 |
NIV © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
NASB © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. |
NLT © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind. |
MSG © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
I've seen it all and it's nothing but smoke--smoke, and spitting into the wind. |
BBE © SABDAweb Ecc 1:14 |
I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind. |
NRSV © bibleoremus Ecc 1:14 |
I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. |
NKJV © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. |
[+] More English
|
KJV | |
NASB © biblegateway Ecc 1:14 |
|
LXXM | |
NET [draft] ITL | |
HEBREW |
NETBible | I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man 1 on earth, 2 and I concluded: Everything 3 he has accomplished 4 is futile 5 – like chasing the wind! 6 |
NET Notes |
1 tn The phrase “by man” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. 2 tn Heb “under the sun.” 3 tn As mentioned in the note on “everything” in 1:2, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything”) is often limited in reference to the specific topic at hand in the context (e.g., BDB 482 s.v. כֹּל 2). The argument of 1:12-15, like 1:3-11, focuses on secular human achievement. This is clear from the repetition of the root עָשַׂה (’asah, “do, work, accomplish, achieve”) in 1:12-13. 4 tn The phrase “he has accomplished” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. 5 tn This usage of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, profitless, fruitless” (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15; Ps 78:33; Prov 13:11; 21:6; Eccl 1:2, 14; 2:1, 14-15; 4:8; Jer 2:5; 10:3; Lam 4:17; see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). The term is used with the simile “like striving after the wind” (רְעוּת רוּחַ, rÿ’ut ruakh) – a graphic picture of an expenditure of effort in vain because no one can catch the wind by chasing it (e.g., 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9; 7:14). When used in this sense, the term is often used with the following synonyms: לְתֹהוּ (lÿtohu, “for nothing, in vain, for no reason”; Isa 49:4); רִיק (riq, “profitless; useless”; Isa 30:7; Eccl 6:11); לֹא הוֹעִיל (“worthless, profitless”; Is 30:6; 57:12; Jer 16:19); “what profit?” (מַה־יִּתְרוֹןֹ, mah-yyitron); and “no profit” (אֵין יִּתְרוֹן, en yyitron; e.g., 2:11; 3:19; 6:9). It is also used in antithesis to terms connoting value: טוֹב (tov, “good, benefit, advantage”) and יֹתְרוֹן (yotÿron, “profit, advantage, gain”). Despite everything that man has accomplished in history, it is ultimately futile because nothing on earth really changes. 6 tn Heb “striving of wind.” The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it has been added in the translation to make the comparative notion clear. |