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

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

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

3 W hat profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?

What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

4 O ne generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.

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

5 T he sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose.

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

6 T he wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.

Blowing 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 run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.

All 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 full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.

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.

9 T hat which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

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.

10 I s there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.

Is 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 former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. The Grief of Wisdom

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. The Futility of Wisdom

12 I , the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

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

13 A nd I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.

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.

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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 made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”

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 heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

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

18 F or in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.