Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities! saith the Proclaimer, vanity of vanities! all, is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
3 What profit hath Man, in all his toil wherewith he toileth under the sun?
What profit hath a man by all his labor with which he wearieth himself under the sun?
4 Generation, goeth and, generation, cometh, but, the earth, unto times age-abiding, remaineth.
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; while the earth abideth for ever.
5 And the sun, breaketh forth, and the sun, goeth in, —yea, unto his own place, he panteth, from whence he brake forth.
The sun riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteneth to the place whence it arose.
6 Going unto the south, and circling unto the north, —circling, circling continually, is, the wind, and, over its own circuits, returneth the wind.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about to the north; round and round goeth the wind, and returneth to its circuits.
7 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.
All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place whence the rivers come, thither they return.
8 All words, are weak, unable is any man to tell, —not satisfied is the eye by seeing, nor filled is the ear with hearing.
All words become weary; man cannot express it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 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.
The thing that hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 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.
Is there any thing of which one may say, “Behold, this is new”? It was long ago, in the times which were before us.
11 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.
There is no remembrance of former things, and of things that are to come there shall be no remembrance to those who live afterwards.
12 I, the Proclaimer, was king over Israel, in Jerusalem.
I, the Preacher, was king over Israel at Jerusalem.
13 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,
And I gave my mind to seek and to search out with wisdom concerning all things which are done under heaven; an evil business, which God hath given to the sons of men, in which to employ themselves.
14 I saw all the works which were done under the sun, —and lo! all, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
I saw all the things which are done under the sun; and, behold, it was all vanity, and striving after wind.
15 That which is crooked, cannot be straight, —and, that which is wanting, cannot be reckoned.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 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:
I communed with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have gained more and greater wisdom than all who have been before me at Jerusalem; yea, my mind hath seen much wisdom and knowledge.”
17 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.
And I gave my mind to know wisdom, and to know senselessness and folly; I perceived that this also is striving after wind.
18 For, in much wisdom, is much vexation, —and, he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth pain.
For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
