Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 What hath a man more of all his labour, that he taketh 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 riseth, and goeth down, and returneth to his place: and there rising again,
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Maketh his round by the south, and turneth again to the north: the spirit goeth forward surveying all places round about, and returneth to his 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 doth not overflow: unto the place from whence the rivers come, they return, to flow 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 hard: man cannot explain them by word. The eye is not filled with seeing, neither is 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 What is it that hath been? the same thing that shall be. What is it that hath been done? the same that shall be done.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say: Behold this is new: for it hath already gone before in the ages that 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: nor indeed of those things which hereafter are to come, shall there be any remembrance with them that shall be in the latter end.
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 Ecclesiastes was king over Israel in Jerusalem,
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I proposed in my mind to seek and search out wisely concerning all things that are done under the sun. This painful occupation hath God given to the children of men, to be exercised therein.
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 things that are done under the sun, and behold all is vanity, and vexation 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 The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I have spoken in my heart, saying: Behold I am become great, and have gone beyond all in wisdom, that were before me in Jerusalem: and my mind hath contemplated many things wisely, and I have learned.
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 have given my heart to know prudence, and learning, and errors, and folly: and I have perceived that in these also there was labour, and vexation 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 Because In much wisdom there is much indignation: and he that addeth knowledge, addeth also labour.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
