Ecclesiastes 1–2

CHAPTER 1

All Is Vanity

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

²“^1aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,

“²Vanity of vanities! All is ³vanity.”

^3aWhat advantage does man have in all his labor

In which he labors under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes,

But the ^aearth stands forever.

⁵Also, ^athe sun rises and the sun sets;

And ¹hastening to its place it rises there again.

^6aGoing toward the south,

Then ¹circling toward the north,

The wind goes ²circling along;

And on its circular courses the wind returns.

⁷All the rivers go into the sea,

Yet the sea is not full.

To the place where the rivers go,

There they ¹continually go.

⁸All things are wearisome;

Man is not able to speak of it.

^aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,

Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

^9aThat which has been is that which will be,

And that which has been done is that which will be done.

So there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which one might say,

“See this, it is new”?

Already it has been for ages

Which were before us.

¹¹There is ^ano remembrance of ¹earlier things;

And also of the ²later things which will be,

There will be for them no remembrance

Among those who will come ³later still.

The Vanity of Wisdom

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

¹³And I ^agave my heart to seek and ^bexplore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is ¹a grievous ^cendeavor which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

¹⁴I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ^1avanity and striving after wind.

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

¹⁶I spoke within my heart, saying, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^awisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my heart has seen an abundance of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I ^agave my heart to know wisdom and to ^bknow madness and simpleminded folly; I came to know that this also is ^cstriving after wind.

¹⁸Because ^ain much wisdom there is much vexation, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.

CHAPTER 2

The Vanity of Pleasure and Possessions

¹I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with ^agladness, so that you shall see good things.” And behold, it too was vanity.

^2aI said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of gladness, “What does it do?”

³I explored with my heart how to ^1astimulate my ²body with wine—while my heart was guiding me wisely—and how to seize ^bsimpleminded folly, until I could see ^cwhere is this good for the sons of men in what they do under heaven the few days of their lives.

⁴I made my works great: I ^abuilt houses for myself; I planted ^bvineyards for myself;

⁵I made for myself ^agardens and ^bparks, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

⁶I made for myself ^apools of water from which to water a forest of growing trees.

⁷I bought male and female slaves, and I had ^1ahomeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^bherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and ^agold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^bmale and female singers and the pleasures of the sons of men—many concubines.

⁹Then I became ^agreat and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

^10aAll that my eyes asked for I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any gladness, for my heart was glad because of all my labor, and this was my ^breward for all my labor.

¹¹Thus I turned to all my works which my hands had done and the labor which I had labored to do, and behold, all was ^1avanity and striving after wind, and there was ^bno advantage under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹²So I turned to ^asee wisdom, madness, and simpleminded folly. What will the man do who will come after the king except ^bwhat has already been done?

¹³And I saw that there is an advantage in ^awisdom over simpleminded folly as light has an advantage over darkness.

¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^afool walks in darkness. And yet I know that the ^bfate of one becomes the fate of all of them.

¹⁵Then I said in my heart, “^aAs is the fate of the fool, so will my fate be also. ^bWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So I said in my heart, “This too is vanity.”

¹⁶For there is ^ano remembrance of the wise man along with the fool forever, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^bhow the wise man dies with the fool!

¹⁷So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ¹grievous to me; because everything is vanity and striving after wind.

The Vanity of Labor

¹⁸Thus I hated ^aall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^bleave it to the man who will come after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^aa man of simpleminded folly? Yet he will have ¹power over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored and for which I have acted wisely under the sun. This too is ^bvanity.

²⁰Therefore I turned my heart to despair of all my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^askill, then he ^bgives his portion to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what does a man get in ^aall his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

²³Because all his days his endeavor is painful and ^avexing; even at night his heart ^bdoes not lie down. This too is vanity.

²⁴¹There is ^anothing better for a man than to eat and drink and have his soul see good in his labor. This also I have seen that it is ^bfrom the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment outside of ¹Him?

²⁶For to a man who is good before Him, ^aHe has given wisdom and knowledge and gladness, while to the sinner He has given the endeavor of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bgive to one who is good before God. This too is ^cvanity and striving after wind.