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”
Ecclesiastes 1
Common English Bible
Opening motto
1 The words of the Teacher of the Assembly,[a] David’s son, king in Jerusalem:
2 Perfectly pointless,[b] says the Teacher, perfectly pointless.
Everything is pointless.
Some things are inevitable
3 What do people gain from all the hard work
that they work so hard at under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains as it always has.
5 The sun rises, the sun sets;
it returns panting to the place where it dawns.
6 The wind blows to the south,
goes around to the north;
around and around blows the wind;
the wind returns to its rounds again.
7 All streams flow to the sea,
but the sea is never full;
to the place where the rivers flow,
there they continue to flow.
8 All words[c] are tiring;
no one is able to speak.
The eye isn’t satisfied with seeing,
neither is the ear filled up by hearing.
9 Whatever has happened—that’s what will happen again;
whatever has occurred—that’s what will occur again.
There’s nothing new under the sun. 10 People may say about something: “Look at this! It’s new!” But it was already around for ages before us. 11 There’s no remembrance of things in the past, nor of things to come in the future. Neither will there be any remembrance among those who come along in the future.
The Teacher’s quest
12 I am the Teacher. I was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to investigate and to explore by wisdom all that happens under heaven. It’s an unhappy obsession that God has given to human beings.
14 When I observed all that happens under the sun, I realized that everything is pointless, a chasing after wind.
15 What’s crooked can’t be straightened;
what isn’t there can’t be counted.
16 I said to myself, Look here, I have grown much wiser than any who ruled over Jerusalem before me. My mind has absorbed great wisdom and knowledge. 17 But when I set my mind to understand wisdom, and also to understand madness and folly, I realized that this too was just wind chasing.
18 Remember:
In much wisdom is much aggravation;
the more knowledge, the more pain.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Gatherer or Convener or Assembler (Heb Qoheleth); see also 1:2, 12; 7:27; 12:8, 9, 10.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or meaningless or vapor or puff of air (Heb hebel, which often occurs in the book)
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or things
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