1 The words ofaver. 12; ch. 7:27; 12:8-10 the Preacher,1Or Convener, or Collector; Hebrew Qoheleth (so throughout Ecclesiastes) the son of David,bver. 12 king in Jerusalem.
2 cch. 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saysa[See ver. 1 above] the Preacher,
cch. 12:8 vanity of vanities!d[Rom. 8:20] All is vanity.
3 ever. 14; Ps. 144:4; See Job 7:16; Ps. 39:5 Whatfch. 2:11, 22; 3:9; 5:16 does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
butgPs. 104:5; 119:90 the earth remains forever.
5 h[Ps. 19:4-6] The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens1Or and returns panting to the place where it rises.
6 i[ch. 11:5; John 3:8] The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 AlljPs. 104:8, 9 streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
kch. 4:8; Prov. 27:20 the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 lch. 3:15; 6:10; [ch. 2:12] What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new ”?
It has beenmch. 3:15 already
in the ages before us.
11 There is nonch. 2:16; See ch. 9:5 remembrance of former things,1Or former people
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things2Or later people yet to be
among those who come after.
12 Iover. 1 the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And Ipver. 17; [1 Kgs. 4:33] applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappyqch. 2:23, 26; 3:10; [Gen. 3:19] business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all isrver. 2; ch. 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4; 6:9 vanity and a striving after wind.1Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (so throughout Ecclesiastes)
15 sSee ch. 7:13 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired greattch. 2:9; [1 Kgs. 3:12, 13; 4:30; 10:7, 23] wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. ” 17 And Iuver. 13; [ch. 2:3, 12; 7:23, 25] applied my heart to know wisdom and to knowvch. 9:3 madness and folly. I perceived that this also is butr[See ver. 14 above] a striving after wind.
18 Forw[ch. 12:12] in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.