Add parallel Print Page Options

What profit does anyone gain from all his labor
    at which he toils under the sun?[a]

Introductory Poem[b]

There Is Nothing New under the Sun

One generation passes away and another generation succeeds it,
    but the earth stands firm forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets;
    then it returns to the place where it rises.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:3 Jesus expands on this same theme in Mk 8:36-38. Under the sun: i.e., the present world and its limits. A synonym is “under heaven” (see v. 13; 2:3; 3:1).
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:4 The author takes the opposite tack to the wonder and adoration excited by the universe in Job (chs. 38–40); for him, no event can change the course of things: nothing deserves to occupy our memories to this point: there is no history!

What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?(A)
Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.(B)
The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.(C)

Read full chapter