The words of the aPreacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.Eccl 1:12; 7:27; 12:8-10
2 “1aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,“2Vanity of vanities! All is 3vanity.”Or Futility of futilitiesOr futilePs 39:5, 6; 62:9; 144:4; Eccl 12:8; Rom 8:20 3 aWhat advantage does man have in all his workWhich he does under the sun?Eccl 2:11; 3:9; 5:164 A generation goes and a generation comes,But the aearth 1remains forever.Lit standsPs 104:5; 119:905 Also, athe sun rises and the sun sets;And 1hastening to its place it rises there again.Lit pantingPs 19:66 1aBlowing toward the south,Then turning toward the north,The wind continues 2swirling along;And on its circular courses the wind returns.Lit GoingLit turningEccl 11:5; John 3:87 All the rivers 1flow into the sea,Yet the sea is not full.To the place where the rivers 2flow,There they 3flow again.Lit go8 All things are wearisome;Man is not able to tell it.aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing.Prov 27:20; Eccl 4:89 aThat 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.Eccl 1:10; 2:12; 3:15; 6:1010 Is there anything of which one might say,“See this, it is new”?Already it has existed for agesWhich were before us.11 There is ano remembrance of 1earlier things;And also of the 2later things which will occur,There will be for them no remembranceAmong those who will come 3later still.Lit first or formerLit latter or afterEccl 2:16; 9:5 12 I, the aPreacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.Eccl 1:1; 7:27; 12:8-10 13 And I aset my 1mind to seek and bexplore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is 2a grievous ctask which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.Lit heartLit an evilEccl 1:17Eccl 3:10, 11; 7:25; 8:17Eccl 2:23, 26; 3:10; 4:8 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is 1avanity and striving after wind.Or futilityEccl 2:11, 17; 4:4; 6:9 15 What is acrooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.Eccl 7:13
16 I 1said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased awisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my 2mind has observed 3a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”Lit spoke with my heart, sayingLit heartLit an abundance1 Kin 3:12; 4:30; 10:23; Eccl 2:9 17 And I aset my 1mind to know wisdom and to bknow madness and folly; I realized that this also is cstriving after wind.Lit heartEccl 1:13; 7:25Eccl 2:12; 7:25Eccl 1:14; 2:11, 17; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9 18 Because ain much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.Eccl 2:23; 12:12