# Ecclesiastes 1.12 **Book:** [Ecclesiastes](/codex/ecclesiastes/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 10. Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 11. There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after. > > **12. I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.** > > 13. 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. 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:10-14, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 10. Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new?” It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 11. There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after. > > **12. I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.** > > 13. 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. 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:10-14, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 10. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. > > **12. I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.** > > 13. 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. to be: or, to afflict them 14. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 1:10-14, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 10. There is a thing of which [one] saith: 'See this, it [is] new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us! 11. There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last. > > **12. I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.** > > 13. And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it. 14. I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit! (Ecclesiastes 1:10-14, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.