Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 1

New Jerusalem Bible	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
¹ Composition of Qoheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.	¹ The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
² Sheer futility, Qoheleth says. Sheer futility: everything is futile!	² Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
³ What profit can we show for al our toil, toiling under the sun?	³ What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
⁴ A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever.	⁴ A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains for ever.
⁵ The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.	⁵ The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
⁶ Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; then back to its circling goesthe wind.	⁶ The wind blows to the south, and goes round to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷ Into the sea go al the rivers, and yet the sea is never fil ed, and stil to their goal the rivers go.	⁷ All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
⁸ Al things are wearisome. No one can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fil ofhearing.	⁸ All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
⁹ What was, wil be again, what has been done, wil be done again, and there is nothing new under thesun!	⁹ 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 Take anything which people acclaim as being new: it existed in the centuries preceding us.	¹⁰ Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already, in the ages before us.
¹¹ No memory remains of the past, and so it wil be for the centuries to come -- they will not beremembered by their successors.	¹¹ There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to happen among those who come after.
¹² I, Qoheleth, have reigned over Israel in Jerusalem.	¹² I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
¹³ Wisely I have applied myself to investigation and exploration of everything that happens under heaven.What a wearisome task God has given humanity to keep us busy!	¹³ And I applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with.
¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun: how futile it al is, mere chasing after the wind!	¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
¹⁵ What is twisted cannot be straightened, what is not there cannot be counted.	¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered.
¹⁶ I thought to myself: I have acquired a greater stock of wisdom than anyone before me in Jerusalem. Imyself have mastered every kind of wisdom and science.	¹⁶ I said to myself, "I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge."
¹⁷ I have applied myself to understanding philosophy and science, stupidity and fol y, and I now realisethat all this too is chasing after the wind.	¹⁷ And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
¹⁸ Much wisdom, much grief; the more knowledge, the more sorrow.	¹⁸ For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.