Ecclesiastes 1

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 by all his labor with which he wearieth himself under the sun?

⁴One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; while the earth abideth for ever.

⁵The sun riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteneth to the place whence it arose.

⁶The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about to the north; round and round goeth the wind, and returneth to its circuits.

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

⁸All words become weary; man cannot express it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹The thing that 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 any thing of which one may say, "Behold, this is new"? It was long ago, in the times which were before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things, and of things that are to come there shall be no remembrance to those who live afterwards.

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

¹³And I gave my mind to seek and to search out with wisdom concerning all things which are done under heaven; an evil business, which God hath given to the sons of men, in which to employ themselves.

¹⁴I saw all the things which are done under the sun; and, behold, it was all vanity, and striving after wind.

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

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, "Behold, I have gained more and greater wisdom than all who have been before me at Jerusalem; yea, my mind hath seen much wisdom and knowledge."

¹⁷And I gave my mind to know wisdom, and to know senselessness and folly; I perceived that this also is striving after wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1

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.