1:2 “Futile! Futile!” laments 1 the Teacher, 2
“Absolutely futile! 3 Everything 4 is futile!” 5
1:3 What benefit 6 do people 7 get from all the effort
which 8 they expend 9 on earth? 10
1:4 A generation comes 11 and a generation goes, 12
but the earth remains 13 the same 14 through the ages. 15
1:5 The sun rises 16 and the sun sets; 17
it hurries away 18 to a place from which it rises 19 again. 20
1:6 The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north;
round and round 21 the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. 22
1:7 All the streams flow 23 into the sea, but the sea is not full,
and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. 24
1:8 All this 25 monotony 26 is tiresome; no one can bear 27 to describe it: 28
The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content 29 with hearing.
1:9 What exists now 30 is what will be, 31
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing truly new on earth. 32
1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? 33
It was already 34 done long ago, 35 before our time. 36
1:11 No one remembers the former events, 37
nor will anyone remember 38 the events that are yet to happen; 39
they will not be remembered by the future generations. 40
1:12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 41
1:13 I decided 42 to carefully 43 and thoroughly examine 44
all that has been accomplished on earth. 45
I concluded: 46 God has given people 47 a burdensome task 48
that keeps them 49 occupied. 50
1:14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man 51 on earth, 52
and I concluded: Everything 53 he has accomplished 54 is futile 55 – like chasing the wind! 56
1:15 What is bent 57 cannot be straightened, 58
and what is missing 59 cannot be supplied. 60
1:16 I thought to myself, 61
“I have become much wiser 62 than any of my predecessors who ruled 63 over Jerusalem; 64
I 65 have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” 66
1:17 So I decided 67 to discern the benefit of 68 wisdom and knowledge over 69 foolish behavior and ideas; 70
however, I concluded 71 that even 72 this endeavor 73 is like 74 trying to chase the wind! 75
1:18 For with great wisdom comes 76 great frustration;
whoever increases his 77 knowledge merely 78 increases his 79 heartache.