Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Israel in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 What advantage [is there] to a man in all his labour that he takes under the sun?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes: but the earth stands for ever.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 And the sun arises, and the sun goes down and draws towards its place;
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 arising there it proceeds southward, and goes round towards the north. The wind goes round and round, and the wind returns to its circuits.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; and yet the sea is not filled: to the place whence the rivers come, there they return again.
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.
8 All things are full of labour; a man will not be able to speak [of them]: neither shall the eye be satisfied with seeing, neither shall the ear be filled with hearing.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 What is that which has been? the very thing which shall be: and what is that which has been done? the very thing which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 [Who is he] that shall speak and say, Behold, this is new? it has already been in the ages that have passed before us.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no memorial to the first things; neither to the things that have been last shall their memorial be with them that shall at the last [time].
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I applied my heart to seek out and examine by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven, for God has given to the sons of men an evil trouble to be troubled therewith.
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!
14 I saw all the works that were wrought under the sun; and, saw, all were vanity and waywardness of spirit.
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.
15 That which is crooked can’t be made straight: and deficiency can’t be numbered.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I spoke in my heart, saying, Behold, I am increased, and have acquired wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem: also I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge.
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.”
17 And my heart knew much—wisdom, and knowledge, parables and understanding: I perceived that this also is waywardness of spirit.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 For in the abundance of wisdom is abundance of knowledge; and he that increases knowledge will increase sorrow.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
