Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

English Standard Version

^2 (A)Vanity^[a] of vanities, says ^(B)the Preacher,
    ^(C)vanity of vanities! ^(D)All is vanity.
^3 (E)What ^(F)does man gain by all the toil
    at which he toils under the sun?
⁴ A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but ^(G)the earth remains forever.
^5 (H)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
    and hastens^[b] to the place where it rises.
^6 (I)The wind blows to the south
    and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷ All ^(J)streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they flow again.
⁸ All things are full of weariness;
    a man cannot utter it;
^(K)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
    nor the ear filled with hearing.
^9 (L)What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done,
    and there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has been ^(M)already
    in the ages before us.
¹¹ There is no ^(N)remembrance of former things,^[c]
    nor will there be any remembrance
of later things^[d] yet to be
    among those who come after.