The Latin Vulgate VUL
New Century Version NCV
1 verba Ecclesiastes filii David regis Hierusalem
1
These are the words of the Teacher, a son of David, kingin Jerusalem.
2 vanitas vanitatum dixit Ecclesiastes vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas
2
The Teacher says, "Useless! Useless! Completely useless! Everything is useless."
3 quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo quod laborat sub sole
3
What do people really gain from all the hard work they do here on earth?
4 generatio praeterit et generatio advenit terra vero in aeternum stat
4
People live, and people die, but the earth continues forever.
5 oritur sol et occidit et ad locum suum revertitur ibique renascens
5
The sun rises, the sun sets, and then it hurries back to where it rises again.
6 gyrat per meridiem et flectitur ad aquilonem lustrans universa circuitu pergit spiritus et in circulos suos regreditur
6
The wind blows to the south; it blows to the north. It blows from one direction and then another. Then it turns around and repeats the same pattern, going nowhere.
7 omnia flumina intrant mare et mare non redundat ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant
7
All the rivers flow to the sea, but the sea never becomes full.
8 cunctae res difficiles non potest eas homo explicare sermone non saturatur oculus visu nec auris impletur auditu
8
Everything is boring, so boring that you don't even want to talk about it. Words come again and again to our ears, but we never hear enough, nor can we ever really see all we want to see.
9 quid est quod fuit ipsum quod futurum est quid est quod factum est ipsum quod fiendum est
9
All things continue the way they have been since the beginning. What has happened will happen again; there is nothing new here on earth.
10 nihil sub sole novum nec valet quisquam dicere ecce hoc recens est iam enim praecessit in saeculis quae fuerunt ante nos
10
Someone might say, "Look, this is new," but really it has always been here. It was here before we were.
11 non est priorum memoria sed nec eorum quidem quae postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo
11
People don't remember what happened long ago, and in the future people will not remember what happens now. Even later, other people will not remember what was done before them.
12 ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israhel in Hierusalem
12
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 et proposui in animo meo quaerere et investigare sapienter de omnibus quae fiunt sub sole hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum ut occuparentur in ea
13
I decided to use my wisdom to learn about everything that happens on earth. I learned that God has given us terrible things to face.
14 vidi quae fiunt cuncta sub sole et ecce universa vanitas et adflictio spiritus
14
I looked at everything done on earth and saw that it is all useless, like chasing the wind.
15 perversi difficile corriguntur et stultorum infinitus est numerus
15
If something is crooked, you can't make it straight. If something is missing, you can't say it is there.
16 locutus sum in corde meo dicens ecce magnus effectus sum et praecessi sapientia omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter et didicit
16
I said to myself, "I have become very wise and am now wiser than anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are."
17 dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam erroresque et stultitiam et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor et adflictio spiritus
17
So I decided to find out about wisdom and knowledge and also about foolish thinking, but this turned out to be like chasing the wind.
18 eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio et qui addit scientiam addat et laborem
18
With much wisdom comes much disappointment; the person who gains more knowledge also gains more sorrow.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.