Chapter 1
Ecclesiastes
Verse 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Verse 2Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,vanity of vanities! All is vanity.Verse 3What does man gain by all the toilat which he toils under the sun?Verse 4A generation goes, and a generation comes,but the earth remains forever.Verse 5The sun rises, and the sun goes down,and hastens to the place where it rises.Verse 6The wind blows to the southand goes around to the north;around and around goes the wind,and on its circuits the wind returns.Verse 7All streams run to the sea,but the sea is not full;to the place where the streams flow,there they flow again.Verse 8All things are full of weariness;a man cannot utter it;the eye is not satisfied with seeing,nor the ear filled with hearing.Verse 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.Verse 10Is there a thing of which it is said,“See, this is new”?It has been alreadyin the ages before us.Verse 11There is no remembrance of former things,nor will there be any remembranceof later things yet to beamong those who come after.
Verse 12I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. Verse 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. Verse 14I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Verse 15What is crooked cannot be made straight,and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Verse 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.” Verse 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.
Verse 18For in much wisdom is much vexation,and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language.