Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all [is] vanity.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 What profit hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh under the sun?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about to the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to its circuits.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea [is] not full; to the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8 All things [are] full of labor; man cannot utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there [any] thing of which it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 [There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all [things] that are done under heaven: this grievous labor hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised with it.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 [That which is] crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I communed with my own heart, saying, Lo, I have come to great estate, and have gained more wisdom than all [they] that have been before me in Jerusalem: and my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
