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

1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."

1:3 What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?
1:3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

1:4 One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.
1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
1:5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there [again.]

1:6 The 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.
1:6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
1:7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

1:8 All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter (it): the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
1:8 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.

1:9 That 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.
1:9 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.

1:10 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
1:10 Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new"? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.

1:11 There 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.
1:11 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.]

1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

1:13 And 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.
1:13 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.

1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
1:14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

1:16 I communed with mine own hear, 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.
1:16 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."

1:17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
1:17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
1:18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge [results in] increasing pain.