Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Vanity of vanities! saith the Proclaimer, vanity of vanities! all, is vanity.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 What profit hath Man, in all his toil wherewith he toileth under the sun?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Generation, goeth and, generation, cometh, but, the earth, unto times age-abiding, remaineth.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 And the sun, breaketh forth, and the sun, goeth in, —yea, unto his own place, he panteth, from whence he brake forth.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Going unto the south, and circling unto the north, —circling, circling continually, is, the wind, and, over its own circuits, returneth the wind.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 All the streams, flow into the sea, yet, the sea, is not full, —unto the place whither the streams flow, thither, do they again flow.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 All words, are weak, unable is any man to tell, —not satisfied is the eye by seeing, nor filled is the ear with hearing.
Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
9 That which hath been, is the same that shall be, and, that which hath been done, is the same that shall be done, —and there is, nothing new, under the sun.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Is there a thing, of which it can be said, See here, it is, new? Already, hath it been, for ages, [it is something] which was before us.
There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
11 There is, no remembrance, of the thing before, —nor, even of the things after, which shall be, will there be any remembrance, with them who shall come after.
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 I, the Proclaimer, was king over Israel, in Jerusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and to search out, wisely, concerning all things which are done under the heavens, —the same, is the vexatious employment God hath given to the sons of men, to work toilsomely therein,
I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
14 I saw all the works which were done under the sun, —and lo! all, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
15 That which is crooked, cannot be straight, —and, that which is wanting, cannot be reckoned.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Spake, I, in my heart, saying, As for me, lo! I have become great, and have gathered wisdom, beyond any one who hath been before me over Jerusalem, —and, my heart, hath seen much wisdom and knowledge:
I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 yea I have given my heart, to know wisdom, and to know madness, and folly, —I know that, even this, is a feeding on wind.
So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
18 For, in much wisdom, is much vexation, —and, he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth pain.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
