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1:1  The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2  "Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless."
1:3  What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?
1:4  A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
1:5  The sun rises, the sun sets, then rushes back to where it arose.
1:6  The wind blows southward, then northward, constantly circulating, and the wind comes back again in its courses.
1:7  All the rivers flow toward the sea, but the sea is never full; then rivers return to the headwaters where they began.
1:8  Everything is wearisome, more than man is able to express. The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by hearing.
1:9  Whatever has happened, will happen again; whatever has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new on earth.
1:10  Does anything exist about which someone might say, "Look at this! Is this new?" It happened ages ago; it existed before we did.
1:11  No one remembers those in the past, nor will they be remembered by those who come after them.
1:12  I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13  I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.
1:14  I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.
1:15  What is crooked cannot be made straight; what is not there cannot be counted.
1:16  I told myself, "I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge."
1:17  So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.
1:18  For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief.