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1The words of Ecclesiastes, David's son, king in Jerusalem.[#1:1 See the introduction on the origin and meaning of the name Ecclesiastes.]
2“Nothing but vapor,” Ecclesiastes said. “Totally vapor. Everything is just vapor that vanishes.”[#1:2 Other possible translations are mist, breath, futility , or emptiness . Since does not last, it serves as an appropriate symbol for everything that is transient, futile, or useless.]
3What does anyone gain by all his hard work, at which he works hard under the sun?
4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth keeps standing forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets. It hurries back, panting and out of breath, to its starting point, where it rises again.
6The wind goes round and round. Blowing south, then blowing north, the wind keeps going around in circles.
7All streams keep flowing to the sea, but the sea is never full. The streams keep coming back to the same place, and then they flow out again.
8Everything is tedious and tiresome, more than one can tell. No eye ever sees enough, and no ear ever gets its fill of hearing.
9Whatever has been is what will be again, and whatever has already been done is what will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a single thing about which one can say, “Look, this is new”? It was already here ages ago, long before us.
11No one remembers the people who came before us, and as for those who are coming—after they are gone, no one will remember them either.[#1:11 Or the events that]
12I, Ecclesiastes, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13I applied my heart to seek out and explore with wisdom everything done under the sky. (What a burdensome task God has given the children of Adam to keep them busy!)[#1:13 Or the heavens; #1:13 Or rotten business]
14I have seen all the actions done under the sun, and, look, it is all nothing but vapor. It is all chasing the wind.
15Whatever is crooked cannot be straightened. Whatever is not there cannot be counted.
16I thought in my heart, “Look, I have become great and accumulated more wisdom than anyone ruling over Jerusalem before me. My mind has absorbed so much wisdom and knowledge.”[#1:16 Literally heart . In Hebrew thought, the heart is the center not only of emotion but also of the intellect.]
17I applied my heart to understand wisdom and knowledge, madness and stupidity. I realized that this too is chasing the wind.
18In fact, with much wisdom comes much frustration. The more knowledge, the more pain![#1:18 Or grief]