Ecclesiastes 1

1These are the words of the Teacher, David’s son, king in Jerusalem. 2Breath upon breath, says the Teacher, breath upon breath! Everything is a breath. 3What do people gain from all the hard work they do under the sun? 4One generation goes and another comes, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun sets, and it hurries back, panting, to the place where it rises again. 6It blows to the south and turns to the north, round and round goes the wind, and on its rounds the wind comes back again. 7All the streams run to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams run, there they keep on running. 8Everything is wearisome, more than anyone can say; the eye is never satisfied with seeing, and the ear is never filled with hearing. 9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which people say, “Look, this is new”? It was already here long ages before us. 11No one remembers those who came before, and those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who come after them.

12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13I set my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. It is a miserable task that God has given human beings to keep them busy. 14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun, and I found that everything is a breath and chasing the wind. 15What is twisted cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be counted. 16I said to myself, “I have gained more and more wisdom, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has taken in a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” 17So I set my mind to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I came to see that this too is chasing the wind. 18For with much wisdom comes much vexation, and whoever adds to knowledge adds to pain.