Ecclesiastes 1
King James Version
1 The words of 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 a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 1
Easy-to-Read Version
1 These are the words from the Teacher, a son of David and king of Jerusalem.
2 Everything is so meaningless. The Teacher says that it is all a waste of time![a] 3 Do people really gain anything from all the hard work they do in this life[b]?
Things Never Change
4 People live and people die, but the earth continues forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and then it hurries to rise again in the same place.
6 The wind blows to the south, and the wind blows to the north. The wind blows around and around. Then it turns and blows back to the place it began.
7 All rivers flow again and again to the same place. They all flow to the sea, but the sea never becomes full.
8 Words cannot fully explain things,[c] but people continue speaking.[d] Words come again and again to our ears, but our ears don’t become full. And our eyes don’t become full of what we see.
Nothing Is New
9 All things continue the way they have been since the beginning. The same things will be done that have always been done. There is nothing new in this life.
10 Someone might say, “Look, this is new,” but that thing has always been here. It was here before we were.
11 People don’t remember what happened long ago. In the future, they will not remember what is happening now. And later, other people will not remember what the people before them did.
Does Wisdom Bring Happiness?
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I decided to study and to use my wisdom to learn about everything that is done in this life. I learned that it is a very hard thing that God has given us to do. 14 I looked at everything done on earth, and I saw that it is all a waste of time. It is like trying to catch the wind.[e] 15 If something is crooked, you cannot say it is straight. And if something is missing, you cannot say it is there.
16 I said to myself, “I am very wise. I am wiser than all the kings who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are.”
17 I decided to learn how wisdom and knowledge are better than thinking foolish thoughts. But I learned that trying to become wise is like trying to catch the wind. 18 With much wisdom comes frustration. The one who gains more wisdom also gains more sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 meaningless … a waste of time The Hebrew word means “vapor or breath” or “something that is useless, meaningless, empty, wrong, or a waste of time.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 in this life Literally, “under the sun.” Also in verses 9, 13.
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Words cannot fully explain things Literally, “All words are weak.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 but people continue speaking The Hebrew could also be translated, “People cannot speak.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 trying to catch the wind Or “It is very troubling to the spirit.” The word for “troubling” can also mean “craving,” and the word for “spirit” can also mean “wind.” Also in verse 17.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International