[1] These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. [2] "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "completely meaningless!" [3] What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? [4] Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. [5] The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. [6] The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. [7] Rivers 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. [8] Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. [9] History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. [10] Sometimes people say, "Here is something new!" But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. [11] We don't remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. [12] I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. [13] I 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. [14] I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless-like chasing the wind. [15] What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. [16] I 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." [17] So 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. [18] The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
