1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
1:2 "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."" |
1:3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? |
1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. |
1:5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there {again.} |
1:6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. |
1:7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. |
1:8 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. |
1:9 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. |
1:10 Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us." |
1:11 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.} |
1:12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
1:13 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. |
1:14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. |
1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. |
1:16 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." |
1:17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. |
1:18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge {results in} increasing pain. |