1 T he words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “ Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

3 W hat advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

5 A lso, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.

6 B lowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

7 A ll the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

8 A ll things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

9 T hat 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.

10 I s there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.

11 T here 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. The Futility of Wisdom

12 I , the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 A nd 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.

14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

15 W hat is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.

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.”

17 A nd I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

18 B ecause in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.