Chapter 1

1 The words of the Preacher, ^R1 the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 "Vanity ^{R2 F1} of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity ^F1 of vanities! All is vanity." ^F2 3 What ^R3 advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth ^R4 remains ^F3 forever. 5 Also, the ^R5 sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening ^F4 to its place it rises there again. 6 Blowing ^{R6 F5} toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling ^F6 along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. 7 All the rivers flow ^F7 into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, ^F7 There they flow ^F7 again. 8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The ^R7 eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

9 That ^R8 which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new"? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. 11 There is no ^R9 remembrance of earlier ^F8 things; And also of the later ^F9 things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later ^F9 still.

12 I, the Preacher, ^R10 have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set ^R11 my mind ^F10 to seek and explore ^R12 by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a ^F11 grievous task ^R13 which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity ^{R14 F12} and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked ^R15 cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said ^F13 to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom ^R16 more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind ^F14 has observed a ^F15 wealth of wisdom and knowledge." 17 And I set ^R17 my mind ^F16 to know wisdom and to know ^R18 madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving ^R19 after wind. 18 Because in ^R20 much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

Chapter 2

1 I said to ^F17 myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure. ^R21 So enjoy ^F18 yourself." And behold, it too was futility. 2 I ^R22 said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" 3 I explored with my mind ^F19 how to stimulate ^R23 my body with wine while my mind ^F19 was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, ^R24 until I could see what ^R25 good there is for the sons of men to ^F20 do under heaven the few years ^F21 of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I built ^R26 houses for myself, I planted vineyards ^R27 for myself; 5 I made gardens ^R28 and parks ^R29 for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ponds ^R30 of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn ^{R31 F22} slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds ^R32 larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and gold ^R33 and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male ^R34 and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines. 9 Then I became great ^R35 and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 All ^R36 that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward ^R37 for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, ^F23 and behold all was vanity ^{R38 F24} and striving after wind and there was no ^R39 profit under the sun.

12 So I turned to consider ^R40 wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what ^R41 has already been done? 13 And I saw that wisdom ^R42 excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool ^R43 walks in darkness. And yet I know that one ^R44 fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said to ^F25 myself, "As ^R45 is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why ^R46 then have I been extremely wise?" So I ^F26 said to myself, "This too is vanity." 16 For there is no ^R47 lasting ^F27 remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how ^R48 the wise man and the fool alike die!

17 So I hated ^R49 life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous ^F28 to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. 18 Thus I hated all ^R50 the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave ^R51 it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a ^R52 fool? Yet he will have control ^F29 over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. ^R53 20 Therefore I completely ^F30 despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, ^R54 then he gives ^R55 his legacy ^F31 to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in all ^R56 his labor and in his ^F32 striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; ^R57 even at night his mind ^F33 does ^R58 not rest. This too is vanity. 24 There is nothing ^R59 better for a man than to eat and drink and tell ^F34 himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from ^R60 the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? ^F35 26 For to a person who is good in His sight He ^R61 has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give ^R62 to one who is good in God's sight. This too is vanity ^R63 and striving after wind.

Chapter 3

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time ^R64 for every event ^F36 under heaven-- 2 A time to give birth and a time ^R65 to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time ^R66 to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep ^R67 and a time to laugh; ^R68 A time to mourn and a time to dance. ^R69 5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be ^R70 silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; ^R71 A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What ^R72 profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task ^R73 which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

11 He has made ^R74 everything appropriate ^F37 in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet ^F38 so that man will ^R75 not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing ^R76 better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor--it is the gift ^R77 of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear ^{R78 F39} Him. 15 That which ^R79 is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness ^R80 and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said to ^F40 myself, "God ^R81 will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time ^R82 for every matter ^F41 and for every deed is there. 18 I said to ^F42 myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts." ^R83 19 For ^R84 the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is ^F43 the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. ^F44 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust ^R85 and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the breath ^R86 of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that nothing ^R87 is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what ^R88 will occur after him?

Chapter 4

1 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression ^R89 which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no ^R90 one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So I ^R91 congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But better ^R92 off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

4 I have seen that every labor and every skill ^R93 which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity ^{R94 F45} and striving after wind. 5 The fool folds ^R95 his hands and consumes ^R96 his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is better ^R97 than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There was a certain man without a dependent, ^F46 having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his ^R98 eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And for ^R99 whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a grievous ^R100 task. 9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either ^F47 of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another ^F48 to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep ^F49 warm, but how ^R101 can one be warm alone? 12 And if one ^F50 can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

13 A poor ^R102 yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction. ^F51 14 For he has come out ^R103 of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces ^F52 him. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity ^R104 and striving after wind.