Ecc1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecc1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
Ecc1:3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
Ecc1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
Ecc1:5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there [again].
Ecc1:6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.
Ecc1:7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.
Ecc1:8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell [it]. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
Ecc1:9 That 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.
Ecc1:10 Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.
Ecc1:11 There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later [still].
Ecc1:12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Ecc1:13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. [It] is a grievous task [which] God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
Ecc1:14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
Ecc1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Ecc1:16 I said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge."
Ecc1:17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.
Ecc1:18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge [results in] increasing pain.