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Ecclesiastes 1:13

WisdomSuffering

11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
KJV
And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
WEB
I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
ASV
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
DARBY
And I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath God given to the children of men to weary themselves therewith.
BLB
And I gave my heart to search and spy out by wisdom, concerning all that is done under the heavens. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, to be occupied with it!
ÅB
og jeg vendte min hu til å ransake og utgranske med visdom alt det som hender under himmelen; det er en ond plage, som Gud har gitt menneskenes barn å plage seg med.
OTB
Jeg satte meg fore å søke og utforske med visdom alt som gjøres under himmelen. Det er en tung byrde Gud har gitt menneskenes barn.
B1930
og jeg vendte min hu til å ransake og utgranske med visdom alt det som hender under himmelen; det er en ond plage, som Gud har gitt menneskenes barn å plage sig med.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Ecclesiastes 3:10

    I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.

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  • Genesis 3:19

    By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

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  • 1 Timothy 4:15

    Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

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  • Ecclesiastes 8:16–17

    When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

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  • Ecclesiastes 1:17

    So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

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  • Ecclesiastes 7:25

    I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

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  • Ecclesiastes 12:12

    And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

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  • Ecclesiastes 2:26

    To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

    Read in context