1These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.H1697H6953H1121H1732H4428H3389
Everything Is Meaningless
2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”H1892H1892H559H6953H1892H1892H18923What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?H3504H120H5999H5998H81214Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.H1755H1980H1755H935H935H776H5975H57695The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.H8121H2224H8121H935H7602H4725H22246The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.H7307H1980H1864H5437H6828H1980H7307H7725H54397Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.H5158H1980H3220H3220H4392H4725H5158H1980H7725H32128Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.H1697H3023H376H3201H1696H5869H7646H7200H241H4390H80859History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.H6213H6213H2319H812110Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.H3426H1697H559H7200H2319H3528H5769H644011We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.H2146H7223H2146H314H314
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.H6953H4428H3478H338913I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.H5414H3820H1875H8446H2451H6213H8064H7451H6045H430H5414H1121H120H603114I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.H7200H4639H6213H8121H1892H7469H730715What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.H5791H3201H8626H2642H3201H448716I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”H1696H3820H559H1431H3254H2451H6440H3389H3820H7235H7200H2451H184717So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.H5414H3820H3045H2451H3045H1947H5531H3045H1571H7475H730718The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.H7230H2451H7230H3708H3254H1847H3254H4341
Unknown
, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.H1697
