All Is Vanity
The words of athe Preacher, the son of David, bking in Jerusalem.
2 aVanity of vanities, says bthe Preacher,
avanity of vanities! cAll is vanity.
3 aWhat bdoes man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but athe earth remains forever.
5 aThe sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
6 aThe 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 astreams 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;
athe eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 aWhat 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 aalready
in the ages before us.
11 There is no aremembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I athe Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I aapplied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy bbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is avanity and a striving after wind.
15 aWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great awisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I aapplied my heart to know wisdom and to know bmadness and folly. I perceived that this also is but ca striving after wind.
18 For ain much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.