Ecclesiastes 1
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
Berean Standard Bible
1THE WORDS OF the Koheleth, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3What profit hath man of all his labour wherein he laboureth under the sun?
3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever.
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth.
5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its circuit, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8All things toil to weariness; man cannot utter it, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.
9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a thing whereof it is said: 'See, this is new'? — it hath been already, in the ages which were before us.
10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11There is no remembrance of them of former times; neither shall there be any remembrance of them of latter times that are to come, among those that shall come after.
11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12I Koheleth have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven; it is a sore task that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I spoke with my own heart, saying: 'Lo, I have gotten great wisdom, more also than all that were before me over Jerusalem'; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly — I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18For in much wisdom is much vexation; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
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