Ecclesiastes 1:1-10 ▼

1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

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

6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.

7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

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

10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.