The Futility of All Endeavors
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
“Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless–a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”
3 What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he doesunder the sun (while earthbound)?
4 One generation goes and another generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.
5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hurries to the place where it rises again.
6 The wind blows toward the south,
Then circles toward the north;
The wind circlesandswirls endlessly,
And on its circular course the wind returns.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
8 All things are wearisomeandall words are frail;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which has been is that which will be [again],
And that which has been done is that which will be done again.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it can be said,
“See this, it is new”?
It has already existed for [the vast] ages [of time recorded or unrecorded]
Which were before us.
11 There is no remembrance of earlier things,
Nor also of the later things that are to come;
There will be for them no remembrance
By generations who will come after them.
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s]wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable businessanda burdensome task whichGod has given the sons of men with which to be busyanddistressed.
14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile graspingandchasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defectiveandlacking cannot be counted.
16 I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdomandexperience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.”
17 And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile graspingandchasing after the wind.
18 For in much [human] wisdom there is much displeasureandexasperation; increasing knowledge increases sorrow.