Ἐκκλησιαστής 1
1 ῥήματα Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ υἱοῦ Δαυιδ βασιλέως Ισραηλ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων εἶπεν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων τὰ πάντα ματαιότης
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 τίς περισσεία τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ᾧ μοχθεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται καὶ ἡ γῆ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἕστηκεν
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 καὶ ἀνατέλλει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ δύνει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ ἕλκει
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 ἀνατέλλων αὐτὸς ἐκεῖ πορεύεται πρὸς νότον καὶ κυκλοῖ πρὸς βορρᾶν κυκλοῖ κυκλῶν πορεύεται τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἐπὶ κύκλους αὐτοῦ ἐπιστρέφει τὸ πνεῦμα
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 πάντες οἱ χείμαρροι πορεύονται εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἡ θάλασσα οὐκ ἔσται ἐμπιμπλαμένη εἰς τόπον οὗ οἱ χείμαρροι πορεύονται ἐκεῖ αὐτοὶ ἐπιστρέφουσιν τοῦ πορευθῆναι
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 πάντες οἱ λόγοι ἔγκοποι οὐ δυνήσεται ἀνὴρ τοῦ λαλεῖν καὶ οὐκ ἐμπλησθήσεται ὀφθαλμὸς τοῦ ὁρᾶν καὶ οὐ πληρωθήσεται οὖς ἀπὸ ἀκροάσεως
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 τί τὸ γεγονός αὐτὸ τὸ γενησόμενον καὶ τί τὸ πεποιημένον αὐτὸ τὸ ποιηθησόμενον καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 ὃς λαλήσει καὶ ἐρεῖ ἰδὲ τοῦτο καινόν ἐστιν ἤδη γέγονεν ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς γενομένοις ἀπὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 οὐκ ἔστιν μνήμη τοῖς πρώτοις καί γε τοῖς ἐσχάτοις γενομένοις οὐκ ἔσται αὐτοῖς μνήμη μετὰ τῶν γενησομένων εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 ἐγὼ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς ἐγενόμην βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Ισραηλ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου τοῦ ἐκζητῆσαι καὶ τοῦ κατασκέψασθαι ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ περὶ πάντων τῶν γινομένων ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν ὅτι περισπασμὸν πονηρὸν ἔδωκεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ περισπᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ
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 εἶδον σὺν πάντα τὰ ποιήματα τὰ πεποιημένα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον καὶ ἰδοὺ τὰ πάντα ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος
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 διεστραμμένον οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἐπικοσμηθῆναι καὶ ὑστέρημα οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 ἐλάλησα ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου τῷ λέγειν ἐγὼ ἰδοὺ ἐμεγαλύνθην καὶ προσέθηκα σοφίαν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἳ ἐγένοντο ἔμπροσθέν μου ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ καρδία μου εἶδεν πολλά σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν
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 καὶ ἔδωκα καρδίαν μου τοῦ γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν παραβολὰς καὶ ἐπιστήμην ἔγνων ὅτι καί γε τοῦτ’ ἔστιν προαίρεσις πνεύματος
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 ὅτι ἐν πλήθει σοφίας πλῆθος γνώσεως καὶ ὁ προστιθεὶς γνῶσιν προσθήσει ἄλγημα
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
