Ecclesiastes 1 — DBY
1Verse 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.Verse 2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.Verse 3What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun?Verse 4[One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever.Verse 5The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.Verse 6The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.Verse 7All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full: unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.Verse 8All things are full of toil; none can express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.Verse 9That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which will be done: and there is nothing new under the sun.Verse 10Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were before us.Verse 11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.Verse 12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.Verse 13And I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath°God given to the children of men to weary themselves therewith.Verse 14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and pursuit of the wind.Verse 15That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.Verse 16I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have become great and have acquired wisdom more than all they that have been before me over Jerusalem; and my heart hath seen much of wisdom and knowledge.Verse 17And I applied my heart to the knowledge of wisdom, and to the knowledge of madness and folly: I perceived that this also is a striving after the wind.Verse 18For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.