Ecclesiastes 1

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.