Ecclesiastes · Bible in Basic English
Ecclesiastes 1 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?
3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
4 One generation goes and another comes; but the earth is for ever.
4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and goes quickly back to the place where he came up.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.
6 The wind goes to the south, turning back again to the north; circling round for ever.
6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
7 All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness; man may not give their story: the eye has never enough of its seeing, or the ear of its hearing.
8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.
9 That which has been is that which shall be, and that which has been done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us.
10 Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new”? It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
11 There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.
11 There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.
13 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
15 That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.
15 That which is crooked can’t be made straight; and that which is lacking can’t be counted.
16 I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem — yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.
17 I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind.
18 Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Cross references (18)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ecclesiastes 12:8–10; Ecclesiastes 1:12; Ecclesiastes 7:27; 1 Kings 11:42–43; 2 Peter 2:5
- 2 Psalm 144:4; Romans 8:20; Ecclesiastes 5:10; Psalm 39:5–6; Ecclesiastes 12:8
- 3 Ecclesiastes 3:9; Ecclesiastes 5:16; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Mark 8:36–37; Ecclesiastes 2:11
- 4 Psalm 104:5; Zechariah 1:5; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Matthew 24:35; Psalm 119:90–91
- 5 Psalm 42:1; Habakkuk 3:11; Psalm 19:4–6; Psalm 104:19–23; Joshua 10:13–14
- 6 John 3:8; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Job 37:9; Psalm 107:29; Job 37:17
- 7 Job 38:10–11
- 8 Proverbs 27:20; Matthew 11:28; Ecclesiastes 4:8; Ecclesiastes 5:10–11; Psalm 63:5
- 9 Ecclesiastes 3:15; Ecclesiastes 6:10; Revelation 21:1; Ecclesiastes 2:12; Ecclesiastes 7:10
- 10 Acts 7:51; Matthew 23:30–32; Luke 17:26–30; Matthew 5:12; 2 Timothy 3:8
- 11 Ecclesiastes 2:16; Psalm 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 41:22–26
- 12 Ecclesiastes 1:1; 1 Kings 4:1–19
- 13 Ecclesiastes 3:10; Genesis 3:19; 1 Timothy 4:15; Ecclesiastes 8:16–17; Ecclesiastes 1:17
- 14 Ecclesiastes 2:11; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Ecclesiastes 2:26; Ecclesiastes 6:9; Ecclesiastes 1:17–18
- 15 Ecclesiastes 7:12–13; Matthew 6:27; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Isaiah 40:4; Lamentations 3:37
- 16 Ecclesiastes 2:9; 1 Kings 4:30; 1 Kings 10:7; 1 Kings 3:12–13; Hebrews 5:14
- 17 Ecclesiastes 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Ecclesiastes 7:23–25; Ecclesiastes 2:10–12; Ecclesiastes 1:13–14
- 18 Job 28:28; Ecclesiastes 12:12–13; 1 Corinthians 3:18–20; Ecclesiastes 7:16; James 3:13–17
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"Do I not weep much the more?" For, "He that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow." The more I long for what is not here, do I not so much the more groan for it until it comes?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
But thou canst not; for, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Let us go to the tombs; show me thy father; show me thy wife.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)