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 man of all his labour wherein he laboureth under the sun?
4 Generation, goeth and, generation, cometh, but, the earth, unto times age-abiding, remaineth.
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; and 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 also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth.
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 unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again 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; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
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 things are full of weariness; man cannot utter [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.
That which 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 a thing whereof men say, See, this is new? it hath been already, in the ages 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 the former [generations]; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] that are to come, among those that shall come after.
12 I, the Proclaimer, was king over Israel, in Jerusalem.
I the Preacher was king over Israel in 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 applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
14 I saw all the works which were done under the sun, —and lo! all, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a 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 mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart hath had great experience of 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 applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
18 For, in much wisdom, is much vexation, —and, he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth pain.
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
