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- The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
- 2
- Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher;
vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
- 3
- What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?
- 4
- One generation goeth, and another generation cometh;
but the earth abideth for ever.
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- The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
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- The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
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- All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full;
unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
- 8
- All things are full of weariness;
man cannot utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
- 9
- That which hath been is that which shall be;
and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
- 10
- Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new?
it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
- 11
- There is no remembrance of the former [generations];
neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] that are to come, among those that shall come after.
- 12
- I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- 13
- And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
- 14
- I have seen all the works that are done under the sun;
and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
- 15
- That which is crooked cannot be made straight;
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
- 16
- I communed with mine own hear, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
- 17
- And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
- 18
- For in much wisdom is much grief;
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
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