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1:1  The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2  “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”
1:3  What advantage does man have from all his work Which he does under the sun (while earthbound)?
1:4  One generation goes and another generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
1:5  Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hurries to the place where it rises again.
1:6  The wind blows toward the south, Then circles toward the north; The wind circles and swirls endlessly, And on its circular course the wind returns.
1:7  All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.
1:8  All things are wearisome and all words are frail; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
1:9  That which has been is that which will be [again], And that which has been done is that which will be done again. So there is nothing new under the sun.
1:10  Is there anything of which it can be said, “See this, it is new”? It has already existed for [the vast] ages [of time recorded or unrecorded] Which were before us.
1:11  There is no remembrance of earlier things, Nor also of the later things that are to come; There will be for them no remembrance By generations who will come after them.
1:12  I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13  And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed.
1:14  I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
1:15  What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.
1:16  I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom and experience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.”
1:17  And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
1:18  For in much [human] wisdom there is much displeasure and exasperation; increasing knowledge increases sorrow.