Ecclesiastes 1:1-7

New Living Translation

1 These are the words of the Teacher,^[a] King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

Everything Is Meaningless

² “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

³ What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? ⁴ Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. ⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. ⁶ The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. ⁷ Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.