King James New American Standard Bible
  • 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
  • 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
  • 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
  • 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
  • 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
  • 6 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.
  • 7 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.
  • 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
  • 9 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.
  • 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
  • 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
  • 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
  • 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
  • 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
  • 2Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
  • 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
  • 4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
  • 5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
  • 6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses 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 wearisome; Man is not able to tell 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, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.
  • 10 Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.
  • 11 There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.
  • 12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
  • 13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
  • 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
  • 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
  • 16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
  • 17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.
  • 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.