The Futility of All Endeavors

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “Futility of futilities! All is futility.”

What advantage does a person have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hurrying to its place it rises there again.

Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

All things are wearisome; No one can tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

What has been, it is what will be, And what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? It has already existed for ages Which were before us.

There is no remembrance of the earlier things, And of the later things as well, which will occur, There will be no remembrance of them Among those who will come later still.

And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled.

I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is futility and striving after wind.

What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

I explored with my mind how to refresh my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize foolishness, until I could see what good there is for the sons of mankind to do under heaven for the few years of their lives.

I bought male and female slaves, and I had slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

I also amassed for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.

Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness

So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?

Then I saw that wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.

The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.