Add parallel Print Page Options

Vanity of vanities,[a] says Qoheleth,
    vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!(A)

Vanity of Human Toil

What profit have we from all the toil
    which we toil at under the sun?[b](B)
One generation departs and another generation comes,
    but the world forever stays.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Vanity of vanities: a Hebrew superlative expressing the supreme degree of futility and emptiness.
  2. 1:3 Under the sun: used throughout this book to signify “on the earth.”

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”(A)

What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?(B)
Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.(C)

Read full chapter