Ecclesiastes 1
1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The wordis of Ecclesiastes, sone of Dauid, the kyng of Jerusalem.
2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
The vanyte of vanytees, seide Ecclesiastes; the vanyte of vanytees, and alle thingis ben vanite.
3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
What hath a man more of alle his trauel, bi which he traueilith vndur the sunne?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Generacioun passith awei, and generacioun cometh; but the erthe stondith with outen ende.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
The sunne risith, and goith doun, and turneth ayen to his place;
6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
and there it risith ayen, and cumpassith bi the south, and turneth ayen to the north. The spirit cumpassynge alle thingis goith `in cumpas, and turneth ayen in to hise cerclis.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
Alle floodis entren in to the see, and the see fletith not ouer the markis set of God; the floodis turnen ayen to the place fro whennus tho comen forth, that tho flowe eft.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
Alle thingis ben hard; a man may not declare tho thingis bi word; the iye is not fillid bi siyt, nether the eere is fillid bi hering.
9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
What is that thing that was, that that schal come? What is that thing that is maad, that that schal be maad?
10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
No thing vndir the sunne is newe, nether ony man may seie, Lo! this thing is newe; for now it yede bifore in worldis, that weren bifore vs.
11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Mynde of the formere thingis is not, but sotheli nether thenkyng of tho thingis, that schulen come afterward, schal be at hem that schulen come in the last tyme.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I Ecclesiastes was king of Israel in Jerusalem;
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
and Y purposide in my soule to seke and enserche wiseli of alle thingis, that ben maad vndur the sunne. God yaf this werste ocupacioun to the sones of men, that thei schulden be ocupied therynne.
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
I siy alle thingis that ben maad vndur the sunne, and lo! alle thingis ben vanyte and turment of spirit.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Weiward men ben amendid of hard; and the noumbre of foolis is greet with outen ende.
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
I spak in myn herte, and Y seide, Lo! Y am made greet, and Y passide in wisdom alle men, that weren bifore me in Jerusalem; and my soule siy many thingis wiseli, and Y lernede.
17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
And Y yaf myn herte, that Y schulde knowe prudence and doctryn, and errours and foli. And Y knew that in these thingis also was trauel and turment of spirit;
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
for in myche wisdom is myche indignacioun, and he that encressith kunnyng, encreessith also trauel.
