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Ecclesiastes 5:7
Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
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Ecclesiastes 1:17-18
So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
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Hosea 12:1
The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.
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Psalms 73:6
They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.
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Ecclesiastes 1:6-9
The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
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Ecclesiastes 4:16
Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless— like chasing the wind.
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Ecclesiastes 4:8
This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself,“ Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
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Ecclesiastes 4:1-4
Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living.But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless— like chasing the wind.
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Ecclesiastes 2:3-11
After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me.I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless— like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
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Ecclesiastes 3:19
For people and animals share the same fate— both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
