Add parallel Print Page Options

Vanity of Human Toil

What profit have we from all the toil
    which we toil at under the sun?[a](A)
One generation departs and another generation comes,
    but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun sets;
    then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Shifting south, then north,
    back and forth shifts the wind, constantly shifting its course.
All rivers flow to the sea,
    yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they flow,
    the rivers continue to flow.
All things are wearisome,[b]
    too wearisome for words.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
    nor has the ear enough of hearing.(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:3 Under the sun: used throughout this book to signify “on the earth.”
  2. 1:8 All things are wearisome: or, “All speech is wearisome.”