1 The teachings of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
As per some studies the original manuscript contains some Persian and other words from
Israel's later neighbors, making it unlikely that the author was indeed Salomon - wisest king of all times -,
son of David. However the real author might have relied heavily on Solomon's wisdom sayings not wanting
to take the credit for any of them.
Everything Is Meaningless:
2 Pointless! Pointless!
- says the Philosopher —
All is vanity!
Everything is meaningless!
3 What advantage does a person have
in all his/her work,
which s/he does under the sun?
FIRST PART
Monotony...
4 One generation goes,
the other generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets,
then rises up again where it rose up before.
6 The wind blows south,
then it turns north,
the wind blows all around
and keeps returning to its rounds.
7 All the rivers flow to the sea,
yet the sea is not full;
to the place where the rivers flow,
there they keep on flowing.
There is nothing new under the Sun
8 All things are endlessly wearisome.
No one can tell,
That has seen them all,
or that has heard them all.
9 What has been is what will be
and what has been done is what will be done again,
because
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say:
"
Look! This is something new!"?
In reality it was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem,
13 and I set my mind to seek and explore
by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven.
What a heavy burden God has given humanity to keep us occupied!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun,
all of them are meaningless and a worthless struggle,
a meaningless run after the wind.
15 What is crooked, cannot be straightened
and what is missing, cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself: "
Look, I have acquired much wisdom,
more than anyone ruling over Jerusalem before me."
"
Yes, I experienced a great deal of wisdom and scientific knowledge."
17 Yet when I set my mind
to understand wisdom and knowledge,
as well as stupidity and foolishness,
I realized that this also is nothing else but chasing the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow
and expanding knowledge results in increasing suffering.
