Ecclesiastes — Chapter 1

1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.

6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.

7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.

8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16I 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.”

17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

3What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

4One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

8All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9The 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.

10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

12I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

15That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

16I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

17And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

3What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?

4One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.

5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.

6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.

7All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.

8All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.

11There is no remembrance of the former [generations]; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] that are to come, among those that shall come after.

12I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

15That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

16I communed with mine own hear, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

17And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.

18For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher. “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.

5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.

6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.

7All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it. The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.

9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

10Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new”? It was already done long ago, before our time.

11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile—like chasing the wind!

15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied.

16I thought to myself, “I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind.

18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

3What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?

4One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.

5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.

6The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.

7All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.

8All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

9That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new?” It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.

11There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.

12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.

14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

15That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted.

16I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”

17I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind.

18For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.