Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 (New International Version)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

 ¹² I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

 ¹⁵ What is twisted cannot be straightened;
       what is lacking cannot be counted.

 ¹⁶ I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." ¹⁷ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

 ¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
       the more knowledge, the more grief.