Ecclesiastes 1
1 Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
3 What advantage [is] to man by all his labor that he labors at under the sun?
What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?
4 A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth is standing for all time.
One generation goes and another comes; but the earth is for ever.
5 Also, the sun has risen, and the sun has gone in, and to its place panting it is rising there.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and goes quickly back to the place where he came up.
6 Going to the south, and turning around to the north, turning around, turning around, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind has returned.
The wind goes to the south, turning back again to the north; circling round for ever.
7 All the streams are going to the sea, and the sea is not full; to a place to where the streams are going, there they are turning back to go.
All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again.
8 All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor is the ear filled from hearing.
All things are full of weariness; man may not give their story: the eye has never enough of its seeing, or the ear of its hearing.
9 What [is] that which has been? It [is] that which is, and what [is] that which has been done? It [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which [one] says: “See this, it [is] new!” Already it has been in the ages that were before us!
Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us.
11 There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.
12 I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that has been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.
14 I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, the whole [is] vanity and distress of spirit!
I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.
15 A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.
16 I spoke with my heart, saying, “I, behold, have magnified and added wisdom above everyone who has been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart has seen wisdom and knowledge abundantly.
I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem — yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] distress of spirit;
And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.
18 for in abundance of wisdom [is] abundance of sadness, and he who adds knowledge adds pain.”
Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.
