Ecclesiastes 1
1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The words of the Proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
Vanity of vanities! saith the Proclaimer, vanity of vanities! all, is vanity.
3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
What profit hath Man, in all his toil wherewith he toileth under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Generation, goeth and, generation, cometh, but, the earth, unto times age-abiding, remaineth.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
And the sun, breaketh forth, and the sun, goeth in, —yea, unto his own place, he panteth, from whence he brake forth.
6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
Going unto the south, and circling unto the north, —circling, circling continually, is, the wind, and, over its own circuits, returneth the wind.
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.
All the streams, flow into the sea, yet, the sea, is not full, —unto the place whither the streams flow, thither, do they again flow.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
All words, are weak, unable is any man to tell, —not satisfied is the eye by seeing, nor filled is the ear with hearing.
9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
That which hath been, is the same that shall be, and, that which hath been done, is the same that shall be done, —and there is, nothing new, under the sun.
10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
Is there a thing, of which it can be said, See here, it is, new? Already, hath it been, for ages, [it is something] which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
There is, no remembrance, of the thing before, —nor, even of the things after, which shall be, will there be any remembrance, with them who shall come after.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I, the Proclaimer, was king over 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 I gave my heart to seek and to search out, wisely, concerning all things which are done under the heavens, —the same, is the vexatious employment God hath given to the sons of men, to work toilsomely therein,
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 saw all the works which were done under the sun, —and lo! all, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
That which is crooked, cannot be straight, —and, that which is wanting, cannot be reckoned.
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.”
Spake, I, in my heart, saying, As for me, lo! I have become great, and have gathered wisdom, beyond any one who hath been before me over Jerusalem, —and, my heart, hath seen much wisdom and knowledge:
17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
yea I have given my heart, to know wisdom, and to know madness, and folly, —I know that, even this, is a feeding on wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
For, in much wisdom, is much vexation, —and, he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth pain.
