1 The words of the 1Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2
"[a]2Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "[b]Vanity of vanities! All is [c]vanity."
3
3Whatadvantage does man have in all his workWhich he doesunder the sun?
4
A generationgoes and a generationcomes, But the 4earth[d]remainsforever.
5
Also, 5the sunrises and the sunsets; And [e]hastening to its place it risesthere again.
6
[f]6Blowingtoward the south, Then turningtoward the north, The windcontinues[g]swirlingalong; And on its circularcourses the windreturns.
7
All the rivers[h]flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the placewhere the rivers[i]flow, There they [j]flowagain.
8
Allthings are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. 7The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the earfilled with hearing.
9
8That which* has been is that which will be, And that which* has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing*newunder the sun.
10
Is thereanything of which one might say, "Seethis, it is new "? Already it has existed for agesWhich were before* us.
11
There is 9noremembrance of [k]earlierthings; And also of the [l]laterthingswhich will occur, There will be for them noremembranceAmong those who will come[m]later still.
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the 10Preacher, have beenkingoverIsrael in Jerusalem.
13
And I 11set my [n]mind to seek and 12explore by wisdomconcerningall that has been doneunderheaven. It is [o]a grievous13task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
14
I have seenall the workswhich have been doneunder the sun, and behold, all is [p]14vanity and striving after wind.
15
What is 15crookedcannot* be straightened and what is lackingcannot* be counted.
16
I [q]said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased16wisdommorethanallwho were overJerusalembefore me; and my [r]mind has observed[s]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge."
17
And I 17set my [t]mind to knowwisdom and to 18knowmadness and folly; I realized that thisalso is 19striving after wind.
18
Because20in muchwisdom there is muchgrief, and increasingknowledge results in increasingpain.