NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Life’s Toil, Time, and God’s Sovereignty — June 20
Ecclesiastes 1-4
Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 365N 171.1
2 “Vanity [a] of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 365N 171.2
3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he [b] toils under the sun? 365N 171.3
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. 365N 171.4
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And [c] hastens to the place where it arose. 365N 171.5
6 The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. 365N 171.6
7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. 365N 171.7
8 All things are [d] full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 365N 171.8
9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 365N 171.9
10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 365N 171.10
11 There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. 365N 171.11
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 365N 171.12
13 And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [e] exercised. 365N 171.13
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.14
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. 365N 171.15
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [f] understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 365N 171.16
17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 365N 171.17
18 For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. 365N 171.18
Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; [a] therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. 365N 171.19
2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 365N 171.20
3 I searched in my heart how [b] to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. 365N 171.21
4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 365N 171.22
5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 365N 171.23
6 I made myself water pools from which to [c] water the growing trees of the grove. 365N 171.24
7 I acquired male and female servants, and had [d] servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 365N 171.25
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and [e] musical instruments of all kinds. 365N 171.26
9 So I became great and [f] excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 365N 171.27
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my [g] reward from all my labor. 365N 171.28
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. 365N 171.29
12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already done. 365N 171.30
13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. 365N 171.31
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all. 365N 171.32
15 So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.” 365N 171.33
16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool! 365N 171.34
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.35
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 365N 171.36
19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 365N 171.37
20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 365N 171.38
21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his [h] heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 365N 171.39
22 For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 365N 171.40
23 For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. 365N 171.41
24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 365N 171.42
25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, [i] more than I? 365N 171.43
26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.44
Ecclesiastes 3
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 365N 171.45
2 A time [a] to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 365N 171.46
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 365N 171.47
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 365N 171.48
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 365N 171.49
6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 365N 171.50
7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 365N 171.51
8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. 365N 171.52
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 365N 171.53
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 365N 171.54
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 365N 171.55
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 365N 171.56
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. 365N 171.57
14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. 365N 171.58
15 That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God [b] requires an account of [c] what is past. 365N 171.59
16 Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of [d] judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, [e] Iniquity was there. 365N 171.60
17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every [f] purpose and for every work.” 365N 171.61
18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 365N 171.62
19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 365N 171.63
20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 365N 171.64
21 Who [g] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 365N 171.65
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his [h] heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? 365N 171.66
Ecclesiastes 4
1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— [a] On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 365N 171.67
2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 365N 171.68
3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 365N 171.69
4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.70
5 The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. 365N 171.71
6 Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.72
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 365N 171.73
8 There is one alone, without [b] companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a [c] grave misfortune. 365N 171.74
9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 365N 171.75
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 365N 171.76
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 365N 171.77
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 365N 171.78
13 Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. 365N 171.79
14 For he comes out of prison to be king, Although [d] he was born poor in his kingdom. 365N 171.80
15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place. 365N 171.81
16 There was no end of all the people [e] over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 365N 171.82