Ecclesiastes 1

Reading Ecclesiastes chapter 1 in the Young's Literal Translation, public-domain text from 1898.

Verses 1–10

1 Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole is vanity.

3 What advantage is to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?

4 A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.

5 Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.

6 Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.

7 All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.

8 All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.

9 What is that which hath been? it is that which is, and what is that which hath been done? it is that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.

10 There is a thing of which one saith: `See this, it is new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!

Ecclesiastes in other translations

• KJV Ecclesiastes
• ASV Ecclesiastes
• Darby Ecclesiastes
• DRC Ecclesiastes
• WEB Ecclesiastes
• Webster Ecclesiastes

About this translation

The Young's Literal Translation (1898) is one of seven public-domain translations available in the OCC Bible Explorer. Use the full app to compare translations side by side, search across all translations, and explore Strong's Hebrew and Greek concordance entries linked to every word.