Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 ▼

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

2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

4 A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it hurries back to the place where it rises.

6 Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

7 All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

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

10 Can one say about anything, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.