Ecclesiastes 1
American Standard Version
1 The words of [a]the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 3 What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? 4 One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits. 7 All the [b]rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. 8 [c]All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 11 There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after. 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and [d]a striving after wind. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and [e]that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom [f]above all that were before me [g]in Jerusalem; yea, my heart [h]hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Hebrew Koheleth.
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Or, torrents
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or, All words are feeble
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or, a feeding on wind (See Hos. 12:1). Or, vexation of spirit (and so elsewhere).
- Ecclesiastes 1:15 Hebrew defect.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Or, yea, more than all
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Hebrew over.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Hebrew hath seen abundantly.
Ecclesiastes 1
Lexham English Bible
Prologue
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Motto Introduced
2 “Vanity of vanities!” says the Teacher,[b]
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”
All Toil is Profitless and Repetitious
3 What does a person gain in all his toil
with which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
to its place it hurries,[c] and there it rises again.
6 The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north;
around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
but the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow.
8 All things toil continuously;[d]
no one can ever finish describing this.[e]
The eye is never[f] satisfied with seeing,
and the ear is never[g] filled with hearing.
9 What has been—it is what will be;
what has been done—it is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!”
But it already existed in ages past before us.
11 There is neither remembrance of former generations,
nor will there be remembrance of future generations.
Qohelet Introduces His Quest
12 I, the Teacher,[h] was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.[i] It is a grievous task God has given to humans.[j] 14 I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind.
16 I said to myself,[m] “Look! I have become great and have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has preceded[n] me over Jerusalem. I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”[o] 17 So I dedicated myself[p] to learn about wisdom and to learn about delusion and folly. However, I discovered[q] that this also is chasing wind.
18 For in much wisdom is much frustration,[r]
and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Hebrew “Qohelet”
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Hebrew “Qohelet”
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 The MT reads “it gasps for breath,” which is supported by LXX “to draw breath”; the BHS editors suggest “it returns again”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “are wearisome”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 The MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 Hebrew “Qohelet”
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 MT reads “under the heavens,” which is supported by LXX; however, several versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) as well as the Cairo Geniza manuscript read, “under the sun,” cf. 1:3, 9, etc.
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Literally “the sons of the man”
- Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads the active “to be straight”; however, the BHS editors suggest the passive “to be straightened,” which is supported by LXX, which reflects a passive form
- Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads “to be numbered”; however, the BHS editors suggest “to be supplied,” comparing 1:15b with similar wording in the Babylonian Talmud: “May the Almighty replenish your loss” (b. Berachot 16b)
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “I myself said to my heart”
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “before me”
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “And my mind has seen much wisdom and knowledge”
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Literally “So I gave my heart”
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Or “I knew”
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 Or “vexation”
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