Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of Kohelet, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities! saith the Proclaimer, vanity of vanities! all, is vanity.
“Vanity of vanities,” says Kohelet; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What profit hath Man, in all his toil wherewith he toileth under the sun?
What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
4 Generation, goeth and, generation, cometh, but, the earth, unto times age-abiding, remaineth.
One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
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 rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.
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 goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
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 where the rivers flow, there they flow 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 beyond uttering. 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 has been is that which shall be, and that which has 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 of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new”? It has been long ago, 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 memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
12 I, the Proclaimer, was king over Israel, in Jerusalem.
I, Kohelet, 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,
I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
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 chasing after wind.
15 That which is crooked, cannot be straight, —and, that which is wanting, cannot be reckoned.
That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted.
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 said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has 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.
I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing 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 who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
