Ecclesiastes 1
1 Verba Ecclesiastæ, filii David, regis Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo quo laborat sub sole?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generatio præterit, et generatio advenit; terra autem in æternum stat.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Oritur sol et occidit, et ad locum suum revertitur; ibique renascens,
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 gyrat per meridiem, et flectitur ad aquilonem. Lustrans universa in circuitu pergit spiritus, et in circulos suos revertitur.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Omnia flumina intrant in mare, et mare non redundat; ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant.
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 Cunctæ res difficiles; non potest eas homo explicare sermone. Non saturatur oculus visu, nec auris auditu impletur.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Quid est quod fuit? Ipsum quod futurum est. Quid est quod factum est? Ipsum quod faciendum est.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Nihil sub sole novum, nec valet quisquam dicere: Ecce hoc recens est: jam enim præcessit in sæculis quæ fuerunt ante nos.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Non est priorum memoria; sed nec eorum quidem quæ postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israël in Jerusalem;
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 et proposui in animo meo quærere et investigare sapienter de omnibus quæ fiunt sub sole. Hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut occuparentur in ea.
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 Vidi cuncta quæ fiunt sub sole, et ecce universa vanitas et afflictio spiritus.
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 Perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Locutus sum in corde meo, dicens: Ecce magnus effectus sum, et præcessi omnes sapientia qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem; et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter, et didici.
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 Dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam, erroresque et stultitiam; et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor et afflictio spiritus:
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio; et qui addit scientiam, addit et laborem.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
