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1:1  These are the words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2  “It is of no use,” says the Preacher. “It is of no use! All is for nothing.”
1:3  What does a man get for all his work which he does under the sun?
1:4  People die and people are born, but the earth stays forever.
1:5  The sun rises and the sun sets, and travels in a hurry to the place where it rises.
1:6  The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. It goes around and around, and returns again on its way.
1:7  All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. And they return again to the place from which the rivers flow.
1:8  All things are tiring. Man is not able to tell about them. The eye never has enough to see, and the ear is never filled with what it hears.
1:9  What has been is what will be. And what has been done is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.
1:10  Is there anything of which one might say, “See, this is new”? It has already been there since long before us.
1:11  No one remembers the things that happened before. And no one will remember the things that will happen in the future among those who will come later.
1:12  I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13  And I set my mind to look for wisdom to learn about all that has been done under heaven. It is a hard work which God has given to the sons of men to be troubled with.
1:14  I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun. And see, it is all for nothing. It is like trying to catch the wind.
1:15  What is not straight cannot be made straight. What is not there cannot be numbered.
1:16  I said to myself, “I have received more wisdom than all who were over Jerusalem before me. My mind has seen much wisdom and much learning.”
1:17  And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know what is crazy and foolish. I saw that this also is like trying to catch the wind.
1:18  Because in much wisdom there is much trouble. And he who gets much learning gets much sorrow.