# Ecclesiastes 1.13 **Book:** [Ecclesiastes](/codex/ecclesiastes/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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. 15. That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. (Ecclesiastes 1:11-15, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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. 15. That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted. (Ecclesiastes 1:11-15, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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. 15. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. that which is wanting: Heb. defect (Ecclesiastes 1:11-15, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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! 15. A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered. (Ecclesiastes 1:11-15, 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; see Lexicon Roadmap._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **Lexicon:** - [H0120 - adam](/codex/h0120-adam/) --- _Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_ ## 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.