Everything Is Meaningless

The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”(C)

What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?(D)
Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.(E)
The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.(G)
All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.(K)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12

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

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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