Ecclesiastes 1-2

Ecclesiastes 1

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

³What profit hath man of all his labour wherein he laboureth under the sun?

⁴One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever.

⁵The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth.

⁶The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.

⁷All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.

⁸All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

¹⁰Is there a thing whereof men say, See, this is new? it hath been already, in the ages which were before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.

¹²I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁵That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁷And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 2

¹I SAID in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.

²I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

³I searched in mine heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, mine heart yet guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

⁴I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;

⁵I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit:

⁶I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared:

⁷I bought menservants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem:

⁸I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, concubines very many.

⁹So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them: I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour; and this was my portion from all my labour.

¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

¹²And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

¹³Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.

¹⁵Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also was vanity.

¹⁶For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been already forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!

¹⁷So I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me: for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁸And I hated all my labour wherein I laboured under the sun: seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

¹⁹And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

²⁰Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labour wherein I had laboured under the sun.

²¹For there is a man whose labour is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

²²For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?

²³For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

²⁶For to the man that pleaseth him God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.