Ecclesiastes 12:8–9

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

“Everything is meaningless!”

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,

“All is vanity.”

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs.

8 Everything is useless!

The Teacher says that everything is useless.

9 The Teacher was very wise and taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about, studied, and set in order many wise teachings.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

9 And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: all is vanity. 9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

8 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Everything is pointless!” 

9 Besides being wise, the spokesman also taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about it, studied it, and arranged it in many proverbs.

8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”

9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.

8 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.

9 Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs.

8 “Vanity of vanity!” says the Teacher.

“Everything is vanity!”

9 The Teacher was full of wisdom, and he taught the people with knowledge. He carefully considered many proverbs and carefully arranged them.

8 “Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”

says the Teacher.

“Nothing has any meaning.”

9 The Teacher was wise. He gave knowledge to people. He put many proverbs to the test. He thought about them carefully. Then he wrote them down in order.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.