Ecclesiastes 1

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

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

³What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun ?

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

⁵The sun rises , and the sun goes down , and hastens to the place where it rises .

⁶The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north ; around and around goes the wind , and on its circuits the wind returns .

⁷All streams run to the sea , but the sea is not full ; to the place where the streams flow , there they flow again .

⁸All things are full of weariness ; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing , nor the ear filled with hearing .

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done , and there is nothing new under the sun .

¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said , See , this is new ? It has been already in the ages before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after .

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

¹³And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven . It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun , and behold , all is vanity and a striving after wind .

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be made straight , and what is lacking cannot be counted .

¹⁶I said in my heart , I have acquired great wisdom , surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge .

¹⁷And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly . I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind .

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation , and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow .