Ecclesiastes 1
1 word preacher son: child David king in/on/with Jerusalem
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 vanity vanity to say preacher vanity vanity [the] all vanity
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 what? advantage to/for man in/on/with all trouble his which/that to toil underneath: under [the] sun
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 generation to go: went and generation to come (in): come and [the] land: country/planet to/for forever: enduring to stand: stand
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 and to rise [the] sun and to come (in): come [the] sun and to(wards) place his to long for to rise he/she/it there
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 to go: walk to(wards) south and to turn: turn to(wards) north to turn: surround to turn: surround to go: walk [the] spirit: breath and upon around him to return: return [the] spirit: breath
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 all [the] torrent: river to go: walk to(wards) [the] sea and [the] sea nothing he full to(wards) place which/that [the] torrent: river to go: walk there they(masc.) to return: return to/for to go: walk
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 all [the] word: thing weary not be able man: anyone to/for to speak: speak not to satisfy eye to/for to see: see and not to fill ear from to hear: hear
Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
9 what? which/that to be he/she/it which/that to be and what? (which/that to make: do *L(abh)*) he/she/it which/that to make: do and nothing all new underneath: under [the] sun
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 there word: thing which/that to say to see: behold! this new he/she/it already to be to/for forever: antiquity which to be from to/for face: before our
There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
11 nothing memorial to/for first: previous and also to/for last which/that to be not to be to/for them memorial with which/that to be to/for last
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 I preacher to be king upon Israel in/on/with Jerusalem
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 and to give: put [obj] heart my to/for to seek and to/for to spy in/on/with wisdom upon all which to make: do underneath: under [the] heaven he/she/it task bad: harmful to give: put God to/for son: child [the] man to/for be occupied in/on/with him
I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
14 to see: see [obj] all [the] deed: work which/that to make: do underneath: under [the] sun and behold [the] all vanity and longing spirit: breath
I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
15 to pervert not be able to/for be straight and deficiency not be able to/for to count
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 to speak: speak I with heart my to/for to say I behold to magnify and to add wisdom upon all which to be to/for face: before my upon Jerusalem and heart my to see: examine to multiply wisdom and knowledge
I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 and to give: put [emph?] heart my to/for to know wisdom and to know madness and folly to know which/that also this he/she/it striving spirit: breath
So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
18 for in/on/with abundance wisdom many vexation and to add knowledge to add pain
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
