Ecclesiastes 1:4
Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 The Message (MSG)
Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.] There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke. What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again. Everything’s boring, utterly boring— no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing. Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”? Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody’ll remember them either. Don’t count on being remembered.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 Amplified Bible (AMP)
One generation goes and another generation comes, But the earth remains forever. [Ps 119:90]
Ecclesiastes 1:4 King James Version (KJV)
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 New Century Version (NCV)
People live, and people die, but the earth continues forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 American Standard Version (ASV)
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 New International Version (NIV)
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.