Ecclesiastes 1

The Vanity of Life

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

²“Vanity ^b1of vanities,” says the Preacher;

“Vanity of vanities, ^call is vanity.”

^3dWhat profit has a man from all his labor

In which he ²toils under the sun?

⁴One generation passes away, and another generation comes;

^eBut the earth abides forever.

^5fThe sun also rises, and the sun goes down,

And ³hastens to the place where it arose.

^6gThe wind goes toward the south,

And turns around to the north;

The wind whirls about continually,

And comes again on its circuit.

^7hAll the rivers run into the sea,

Yet the sea is not full;

To the place from which the rivers come,

There they return again.

⁸All things are ⁴full of labor;

Man cannot express it.

ⁱThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,

Nor the ear filled with hearing.

^9jThat which has been is what will be,

That which is done is what will be done,

And there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which it may be said,

“See, this is new”?

It has already been in ancient times before us.

¹¹There is ^kno remembrance of former things,

Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come

By those who will come after.

The Grief of Wisdom

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I set my heart to seek and ^lsearch out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; ^mthis burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be ⁵exercised. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁵ⁿWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,

And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained ^omore wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has ⁶understood great wisdom and knowledge.” ^17pAnd I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

¹⁸For ^qin much wisdom is much grief,

And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.