Ecclesiastes 1
New King James Version
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, (A)king in Jerusalem.
3 (D)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he [b]toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
(E)But the earth abides forever.
5 (F)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [c]hastens to the place where it arose.
6 (G)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 (H)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are [d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(I)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (J)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is (K)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
The Grief of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and (L)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; (M)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [e]exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15 (N)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained (O)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [f]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 (P)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18 For (Q)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 labors
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen
Kohelet 1
Orthodox Jewish Bible
1 Divrei Kohelet, Ben Dovid, Melech in Yerushalayim.
2 Hevel havalim, saith Kohelet, hevel havalim; all is hevel.
3 What profit hath a man from all his amal (toil) which he hath toiled under the shemesh?
4 Dor v’dor, generations come and go, passing away; but ha’aretz remaineth l’olam.
5 The shemesh also ariseth, and the shemesh goeth down, and hasteth to its place, there to arise again.
6 The ruach (wind) goeth toward the darom (south), and turneth about unto the tzafon (north); it whirleth about continually, and the ruach returneth again according to its circuits.
7 All the neharot (rivers) run into the yam; yet the yam is not full; unto the place from whence the neharot come, thither they return to go again.
8 All things are wearisome; no ish can express it; the ayin is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ozen full 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 nothing chadash under the shemesh.
10 Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is chadash? L’olamim (ages ago), which were before us, it hath been already.
11 There is no zichron (remembrance) of former things; neither shall there be with those who come after any zikaron (recollection) of things that are to come.
12 I, Kohelet, was Melech over Yisroel in Yerushalayim.
13 And I set my lev to seek and search out by chochmah concerning all things that are done under Shomayim; what grievous task hath Elohim given to the bnei haAdam to be afflicted therewith.
14 I have seen all the ma’asim that are done under the shemesh; and, hinei, all is hevel and chasing after ruach (wind).
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and chesron (that which is lacking) cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own lev, saying, Hinei, I am come to greatness, even greater chochmah than all they that have been before me over Yerushalayim; yea, my lev had great experience of chochmah and da’as.
17 And I applied my lev to have da’as of chochmah, and to have da’as of holelot (madness) and sichlut (folly); I perceived that this also is striving after ruach (wind).
18 For in much chochmah (wisdom) is much ka’as (grief, vexation); and he that increaseth da’as increaseth mach’ov (sorrow).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International