1The words of the Preacher,[1] the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (Ec 1:12; Ec 7:27; Ec 12:8)2Vanity[2] of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. (Ec 1:1; Ec 12:8; Ro 8:20)3What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? (Job 7:16; Ps 39:5; Ps 144:4; Ec 1:14; Ec 2:11; Ec 2:22; Ec 3:9; Ec 5:16)4A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. (Ps 104:5; Ps 119:90)5The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens[3] to the place where it rises. (Ps 19:4)6The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. (Ec 11:5; Joh 3:8)7All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. (Ps 104:8)8All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (Pr 27:20; Ec 4:8)9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ec 2:12; Ec 3:15; Ec 6:10)10Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. (Ec 3:15)11There is no remembrance of former things,[4] nor will there be any remembrance of later things[5] yet to be among those who come after. (Ec 2:16; Ec 9:5)
The Vanity of Wisdom
12I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. (Ec 1:1)13And I applied my heart[6] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. (Ge 3:19; 1Ki 4:33; Ec 1:17; Ec 2:23; Ec 2:26; Ec 3:10)14I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity[7] and a striving after wind.[8] (Ec 1:2; Ec 2:11; Ec 2:17; Ec 2:26; Ec 4:4; Ec 6:9)15What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. (Ec 7:13)16I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” (1Ki 3:12; 1Ki 4:30; 1Ki 10:7; 1Ki 10:23; Ec 2:9)17And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. (Ec 1:13; Ec 1:14; Ec 2:3; Ec 2:12; Ec 7:23; Ec 7:25; Ec 9:3)18For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. (Ec 12:12)
1The words of the Teacher,[1] son of David, king of Jerusalem:2‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’3What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains for ever.5The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.6The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.7All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.8All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.10Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! This is something new’? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.11No-one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
Wisdom is meaningless
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.13I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.16I said to myself, ‘Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.’17Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
1These are the words of the Teacher. He was the son of David. He was also the king in Jerusalem.2‘Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is completely meaningless! Nothing has any meaning.’3What do people get for all their work? Why do they work so hard on this earth?4People come and people go. But the earth remains for ever.5The sun rises. Then it sets. And then it hurries back to where it rises.6The wind blows to the south. Then it turns to the north. Around and around it goes. It always returns to where it started.7Every stream flows into the ocean. But the ocean never gets full. The streams return to the place they came from.8All things are tiresome. They are more tiresome than anyone can say. But our eyes never see enough of anything. Our ears never hear enough.9Everything that has ever been will come back again. Everything that has ever been done will be done again. Nothing is new on earth.10There isn’t anything about which someone can say, ‘Look! Here’s something new.’ It was already here long ago. It was here before we were.11No one remembers the people of long ago. Even those who haven’t been born yet won’t be remembered by those who will be born after them.
Wisdom is meaningless
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.13I decided to study things carefully. I used my wisdom to check everything out. I looked into everything that is done on earth. What a heavy load God has put on human beings!14I’ve seen what is done on this earth. All of it is meaningless. It’s like chasing the wind.15People can’t straighten things that are crooked. They can’t count things that don’t even exist.16I said to myself, ‘Look, I’ve now grown wiser than anyone who ruled over Jerusalem in the past. I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge.’17Then I used my mind to understand what it really means to be wise. And I wanted to know what foolish pleasure is all about. But I found out that it’s also like chasing the wind.18A lot of human wisdom leads to a lot of sorrow. More knowledge only brings more sadness.
Ecclesiastes 1
King James Version
1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.3What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?4One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.8All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it : the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.9The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.11There is no remembrance of former things ; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.12I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.13And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.15That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.16I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.17And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
4Eine Generation geht, eine andere kommt. / Die Erde steht in Ewigkeit. (2Sa 12:23; Job 10:21; Ps 39:14; Ps 93:1; Ps 104:5; Ec 3:11; Sir 14:18)5Die Sonne, die aufging und wieder unterging, / atemlos jagt sie zurück an den Ort, wo sie wieder aufgeht. (Ps 19:6; Ec 11:7; Ec 12:2)6Er weht nach Süden, dreht nach Norden, dreht, dreht, weht, der Wind. / Weil er sich immerzu dreht, kehrt er zurück, der Wind. (Ec 11:5; Joh 3:8)7Alle Flüsse fließen ins Meer, / das Meer wird nicht voll.
Zu dem Ort, wo die Flüsse entspringen, / kehren sie zurück, um wieder zu entspringen. (Ps 24:2; Ps 104:5; Pr 8:29; Jer 5:22; Sir 40:11)8Alle Dinge sind rastlos tätig, / kein Mensch kann alles ausdrücken,
nie wird ein Auge satt, wenn es beobachtet, / nie wird ein Ohr vom Hören voll.[1] (Pr 27:20; Ec 5:9; Ec 8:17; Sir 42:15)9Was geschehen ist, wird wieder geschehen, / was getan wurde, wird man wieder tun: / Es gibt nichts Neues unter der Sonne. (Ec 3:15; Ec 4:13; Ec 6:10; Isa 42:9; Isa 43:18; Isa 65:17; Re 21:1)10Zwar gibt es bisweilen ein Ding, von dem es heißt: / Sieh dir das an, das ist etwas Neues - / aber auch das gab es schon in den Zeiten, die vor uns gewesen sind.11Nur gibt es keine Erinnerung an die Früheren / und auch an die Späteren, die erst kommen werden,
auch an sie wird es keine Erinnerung geben / bei denen, die noch später kommen werden. (Ec 2:16; Ec 9:5; Sir 44:1)
BEDINGTHEIT DES MENSCHEN – UNDURCHSCHAUBARKEIT GOTTES
Drei Überblicke
12Ich, Kohelet, war in Jerusalem König über Israel. (1Ki 3:1; 1Ki 4:1; 1Ki 11:42)13Ich hatte mir vorgenommen, das Wissen daraufhin zu untersuchen und zu erforschen, ob nicht alles, was unter dem Himmel getan wurde, ein schlechtes Geschäft war, für das die einzelnen Menschen durch Gottes Auftrag sich abgemüht haben. (Ec 2:3; Ec 3:10; Ec 5:13; Ec 8:9)14Ich beobachtete alle Taten, die unter der Sonne getan wurden. Das Ergebnis: Das ist alles Windhauch und Luftgespinst. (Ec 2:11; Ec 4:4)15Was krumm ist, kann man nicht gerade biegen; / was nicht da ist, kann man nicht zählen. (Pr 27:22; Ec 7:13; Isa 40:4; Isa 42:16)16Ich überlegte mir Folgendes: Ich habe mein Wissen immerzu vergrößert, sodass ich jetzt darin jeden übertreffe, der vor mir über Jerusalem geherrscht hat. Oft konnte ich Wissen und Können beobachten. (1Ki 5:9; Ec 2:9)17So habe ich mir vorgenommen zu erkennen, was Wissen wirklich ist, und zu erkennen, was Verblendung und Unwissen wirklich sind. Ich erkannte, dass auch dies ein Luftgespinst ist. (Ec 2:12; Ec 7:25; Ec 8:16)18Denn:
Viel Wissen, viel Ärger, / wer das Können mehrt, der mehrt die Sorge. (Pr 3:13; Pr 22:15; Ec 2:23; Ec 5:16; Sir 6:18)