Ecclesiastes 1
1 The wordis of Ecclesiastes, sone of Dauid, the kyng of Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 The vanyte of vanytees, seide Ecclesiastes; the vanyte of vanytees, and alle thingis ben vanite.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 What hath a man more of alle his trauel, bi which he traueilith vndur the sunne?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generacioun passith awei, and generacioun cometh; but the erthe stondith with outen ende.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sunne risith, and goith doun, and turneth ayen to his place;
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 and there it risith ayen, and cumpassith bi the south, and turneth ayen to the north. The spirit cumpassynge alle thingis goith `in cumpas, and turneth ayen in to hise cerclis.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Alle floodis entren in to the see, and the see fletith not ouer the markis set of God; the floodis turnen ayen to the place fro whennus tho comen forth, that tho flowe eft.
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 Alle thingis ben hard; a man may not declare tho thingis bi word; the iye is not fillid bi siyt, nether the eere is fillid bi hering.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 What is that thing that was, that that schal come? What is that thing that is maad, that that schal be maad?
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 No thing vndir the sunne is newe, nether ony man may seie, Lo! this thing is newe; for now it yede bifore in worldis, that weren bifore vs.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Mynde of the formere thingis is not, but sotheli nether thenkyng of tho thingis, that schulen come afterward, schal be at hem that schulen come in the last tyme.
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 Ecclesiastes was king of Israel in Jerusalem;
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 and Y purposide in my soule to seke and enserche wiseli of alle thingis, that ben maad vndur the sunne. God yaf this werste ocupacioun to the sones of men, that thei schulden be ocupied therynne.
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 siy alle thingis that ben maad vndur the sunne, and lo! alle thingis ben vanyte and turment 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 Weiward men ben amendid of hard; and the noumbre of foolis is greet with outen ende.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I spak in myn herte, and Y seide, Lo! Y am made greet, and Y passide in wisdom alle men, that weren bifore me in Jerusalem; and my soule siy many thingis wiseli, and Y lernede.
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 Y yaf myn herte, that Y schulde knowe prudence and doctryn, and errours and foli. And Y knew that in these thingis also was trauel and turment 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 myche wisdom is myche indignacioun, and he that encressith kunnyng, encreessith also trauel.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
