Ecclesiastes 1

chevron_leftchevron_right

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

²All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

³What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

⁴One generation goes and another comes; but the earth is for ever.

⁵The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and goes quickly back to the place where he came up.

⁶The wind goes to the south, turning back again to the north; circling round for ever.

⁷All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again.

⁸All things are full of weariness; man may not give their story: the eye has never enough of its seeing, or the ear of its hearing.

⁹That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us.

¹¹There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.

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

¹³And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

¹⁴I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

¹⁵That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.

¹⁶I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem--yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁷And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

¹⁸Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1

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.