'Everything Is Meaningless' — Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 · Berean Standard Bible
'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.' Ecclesiastes opens by facing the ache honestly — generations come and go, the sun rises and sets, and there is 'nothing new under the sun.' Rather than cheap answers, it names the emptiness of a life lived only 'under the sun,' setting up the book's search for what actually gives life meaning.
1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Read the wider context: Ecclesiastes 1.
Sitting with this passage?
Leave your email and we'll send you scripture and real stories of God's faithfulness — encouragement for whatever you're walking through.
Or keep reading —
Related passages
- Called to a Holy Life — 2 Timothy 1:7-9
- What the Bible Says About Doubt (James 1:5-8) — James 1:5-8
- Test and Approve God's Good and Perfect Will — Romans 12:1-2
- Called According to His Purpose — Romans 8:28-30