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

²Vapor of vapors, said the Preacher, vapor of vapors; all is vapor.

³What advantage does man have in all his toil that he toils under the sun?

⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the land stands forever.

⁵The sun dawns and the sun goes, and to its place it pants, dawning there.

⁶Going to the south and circling to the north, circling, circling goes the breath, and upon its circuits the breath returns.

⁷All the wadis go to the sea, and the sea is not full; to the place where the wadis go, there they return to go.

⁸All the words are weary; man cannot speak; the eye is not satisfied by seeing, and the ear is not filled from hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there a word of which he will say, See, this is new? It already was, in the ages which were before our face.

¹¹There is no remembrance of the former things, and also of the later ones that will be, there will be no remembrance of them among those who will be later.

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³I set my heart to inquire and to scout in wisdom over all which is made under the skies; it is the evil occupation God set to the children of the man to afflict in him.

¹⁴I saw all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, everything is vapor and a striving after wind.

¹⁵What is bent cannot become straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I spoke, I, with my heart, saying: I, behold, I made great and added wisdom above all who were before me over Jerusalem; and my heart saw much wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁷I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I knew that this also is a striving after wind.

¹⁸For in the multitude of wisdom there is much vexation, and one who adds knowledge adds pain.