1 The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Utter futility!—said Koheleth—
Utter futility! All is futile!
3 What real value is there for a man
In all the gains he makes beneath the sun?

4 0ne generation goes, another comes,
But the earth remains the same forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun sets—
And glides back to where it rises.
6 Southward blowing,
Turning northward,
Ever turning blows the wind;
On its rounds the wind returns.
7 AII streams flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is never full;
To the place [from] which they flow
The streams flow back again.
8 All such things are wearisome:
No man can ever state them;
The eye never has enough of seeing,
Nor the ear enough of hearing.
9 0nly that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!

10 Sometimes there is a phenomenon of which they say, "Look, this one is new!"—it occurred long since, in ages that went by before us. 11 The earlier ones are not remembered; so too those that will occur later will no more be remembered than those that will occur at the very end.

12 I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel. 13 I set my mind to study and to probe with wisdom all that happens under the sun.—An unhappy business, that, which God gave men to be concerned with! 14 I observed all the happenings beneath the sun, and I found that all is futile and pursuit of wind:

15 A twisted thing that cannot be made straight,
A lack that cannot be made good.

16 I said to myself:"Here I have grown richer and wiser than any that ruled before me over Jerusalem, and my mind has zealously absorbed wisdom and learning." 17 And so I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly. And I Iearned—that this too was pursuit of wind:

18 For as wisdom grows, vexation grows;
To increase learning is to increase heartache.

3

A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:
2 A time for being born and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
3 A time for slaying and a time for healing,
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
4 A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
5 A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
6 A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
7 A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
8 A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What value, then, can the man of affairs get from what he earns? 10 I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with: 11 He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind, but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. 12 Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; 13 also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God.

5 17 0nly this, I have found, is a real good: that one should eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains he makes under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given him; for that is his portion. 18 Also, whenever a man is given riches and property by God, and is also permitted by Him to enjoy them and to take his portion and get pleasure for his gains—that is a gift of God. 19 For [such a man] will not brood much over the days of his life, because God keeps him busy enjoying himself.

9 For all this I noted, and I ascertained all this: that the actions of even the righteous and the wise are determined by God. Even love! Even hate! Man knows none of these in advance 2—none! For the same fate is in store for all: for the righteous, and for the wicked; for the good and pure, and for the impure; for him who sacrifices and for him who does not; for him who is pleasing, and for him who is displeasing; and for him who swears, and for him who shuns oaths. 3 That is the sad thing about all that goes on under the sun: that the same fate is in store for all. (Not only that, but men's hearts are full of sadness, and their minds of madness, while they live; and then—to the dead!) 4 For he who is reckoned among the living has something to look forward to—even a live dog is better than a dead lion—5 since the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing; they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died. 6 Their loves, their hates, their jealousies have long since perished; and they have no more share till the end of time in all that goes on under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1, 3:1-13, 5:17-19, 9:1-6

Questions for Discussion