Ecclesiastes 1:2

Good News Translation

It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher. Life is useless, all useless.

Cross References

Job 11:12

Stupid people will start being wise when wild donkeys are born tame.

Psalm 144:4

We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a passing shadow.

Psalm 89:47

Remember how short my life is; remember that you created all of us mortal!

Ecclesiastes 11:10

Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain. You aren't going to be young very long.

Ecclesiastes 11:8

Be grateful for every year you live. No matter how long you live, remember that you will be dead much longer. There is nothing at all to look forward to.

Ecclesiastes 12:8

Useless, useless, said the Philosopher. It is all useless.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard I had worked doing it, and I realized that it didn't mean a thing. It was like chasing the wind—of no use at all.

Ecclesiastes 2:15

I thought to myself, “What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?” “Nothing,” I answered, “not a thing.”

Ecclesiastes 2:17

So life came to mean nothing to me, because everything in it had brought me nothing but trouble. It had all been useless; I had been chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

and he might be wise, or he might be foolish—who knows? Yet he will own everything I have worked for, everything my wisdom has earned for me in this world. It is all useless.

Ecclesiastes 2:21

You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn't had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn't right!

Ecclesiastes 2:23

As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can't rest. It is all useless.

Ecclesiastes 2:26

God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:8

I also piled up silver and gold from the royal treasuries of the lands I ruled. Men and women sang to entertain me, and I had all the women a man could want.

Ecclesiastes 3:19

After all, the same fate awaits human beings and animals alike. One dies just like the other. They are the same kind of creature. A human being is no better off than an animal, because life has no meaning for either.

Ecclesiastes 4:16

There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

I have also learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:8

Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too—and a miserable way to live.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.

Ecclesiastes 6:11

The longer you argue, the more useless it is, and you are no better off.

Romans 8:20

For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope