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1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
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2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
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3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
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4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
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5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
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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.
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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.
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8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
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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.
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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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15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
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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.
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17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
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18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
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- 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
- 2 “Vanity 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.
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