Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again 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, yet the sea is not full: unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go 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 toil; none can express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear 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 That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which will be done: and there is nothing new 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 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were 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 remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.
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 and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath God given to the children of men to weary themselves 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 have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and pursuit of the wind.
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 cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have become great and have acquired wisdom more than all they that have been before me over Jerusalem; and my heart hath seen much of 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 I applied my heart to the knowledge of wisdom, and to the knowledge of madness and folly: I perceived that this also is a striving after the wind.
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 much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
