The Teacher, Chapter 1

The words of the teacher:

“Vanity of vanities,” saith the teacher,
“vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
What profit hath a man of all his labour
which he taketh under the sun?

One generation passeth away,
and another generation cometh:
but the earth abideth for ever.

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down,
and hasteth to the place whence it arose.

The wind goeth toward the south,
and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually,
and returneth again according to its circuits.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full:
to the place whence the rivers come, there they return again.

All things are full of labour. Man cannot utter it:

The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.

The thing that hath been is that which will be again;
and that which is done, is that which will be done again:
There is no new thing under the sun.

Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new?”
All hath been already of long ago,
All was here before our time.

There is no remembrance of former things;
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered by those who follow.


I was a king of kings.

I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom
all things that are done under the sun.
With this blind compulsion do the generations of man
find themselves burdened.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun;
and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be reckoned.

I communed with mine own heart, saying,
“Lo, I am come to great estate,
and have gotten more wisdom than all they
that have been before me:
yea, my heart had great experience
of wisdom and knowledge.”

And I gave my heart to know all wisdom:
to know madness and folly.
I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

For in much wisdom is much grief:
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.