Ecclesiastes 1

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Verba Ecclesiastæ, filii David, regis Jerusalem.	1 Composition of Qoheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes ; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.	2 Sheer futility, Qoheleth says. Sheer futility: everything is futile!
3 Quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo quo laborat sub sole ?	3 What profit can we show for al our toil, toiling under the sun?
4 Generatio præterit, et generatio advenit ; terra autem in æternum stat.	4 A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever.
5 Oritur sol et occidit, et ad locum suum revertitur ; ibique renascens,	5 The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.
6 gyrat per meridiem, et flectitur ad aquilonem. Lustrans universa in circuitu pergit spiritus, et in circulos suos revertitur.	6 Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; then back to its circling goesthe wind.
7 Omnia flumina intrant in mare, et mare non redundat ; ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant.	7 Into the sea go al the rivers, and yet the sea is never fil ed, and stil to their goal the rivers go.
8 Cunctæ res difficiles ; non potest eas homo explicare sermone. Non saturatur oculus visu, nec auris auditu impletur.	8 Al things are wearisome. No one can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fil ofhearing.
9 Quid est quod fuit ? Ipsum quod futurum est. Quid est quod factum est ? Ipsum quod faciendum est.	9 What was, wil be again, what has been done, wil be done again, and there is nothing new under thesun!
10 Nihil sub sole novum, nec valet quisquam dicere : Ecce hoc recens est : jam enim præcessit in sæculis quæ fuerunt ante nos.	10 Take anything which people acclaim as being new: it existed in the centuries preceding us.
11 Non est priorum memoria ; sed nec eorum quidem quæ postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo.	11 No memory remains of the past, and so it wil be for the centuries to come -- they will not beremembered by their successors.
12 Ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israël in Jerusalem ;	12 I, Qoheleth, have reigned over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 et proposui in animo meo quærere et investigare sapienter de omnibus quæ fiunt sub sole. Hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut occuparentur in ea.	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!
14 Vidi cuncta quæ fiunt sub sole, et ecce universa vanitas et afflictio spiritus.	14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun: how futile it al is, mere chasing after the wind!
15 Perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus.	15 What is twisted cannot be straightened, what is not there cannot be counted.
16 Locutus sum in corde meo, dicens : Ecce magnus effectus sum, et præcessi omnes sapientia qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem ; et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter, et didici.	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.
17 Dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam, erroresque et stultitiam ; et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor et afflictio spiritus :	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.
18 eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio ; et qui addit scientiam, addit et laborem.	18 Much wisdom, much grief; the more knowledge, the more sorrow.