Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1:

Verses from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1 of the book of Ecclesiastes of the Bible.

Ecclesiastes - Old Testament — Ecclesiastes – Old Testament

Everything is illusion

1. The words of the wise man, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2. “What immense futility!” says the wise man. “What immense futility! Everything is vain and meaningless!”
3. What gain does a man have from all the effort he makes under the sun?
4. Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5. The sun rises and the sun sets, rushing to the place from which it rises.
6. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; spinning in circles and always following its course.
7. All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea is never full; Even though the rivers continue to flow, they return to where they came from.
8. All things are laborious; man cannot express them in words. The eyes are never satisfied with what they see, nor are the ears satisfied with what they hear.
9. What was, that will be; what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10. Is there anything about which one can say, “See, this is new!”? No! This already existed in past centuries, long before us.
11. No one remembers the past generations, and those who come after will not be remembered by those who are yet to come.
12. I, the wise one, was king of Israel in Jerusalem.
13. I have devoted myself to examining and investigating with wisdom everything that is done under the heavens. What an arduous task God has given to the children of men!
14. I have observed every work under the sun, and everything is vanity, it is like chasing the wind!
15. What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is missing cannot be counted.
16. I thought to myself, “I have gained more wisdom than all those before me in Jerusalem; I have great experience and knowledge.”
17. Then I dedicated myself to understanding wisdom, madness and foolishness, but I realized that this too is chasing the wind.
18. For the greater the wisdom, the greater the sorrow; and the more knowledge you have, the more suffering increases.