Ecclesiastes:1-2
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The words of the Preacher ,
the son of David ,
king in Jerusalem .
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Vanity of vanities ,
saith the Preacher ,
vanity of vanities ;
all is vanity .
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What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ?
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One generation passeth away ,
and another generation cometh :
but the earth abideth for ever .
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The sun also ariseth ,
and the sun goeth down ,
and hasteth to his place where he arose .
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The wind goeth toward the south ,
and turneth about unto the north ;
it whirleth about continually ,
and the wind returneth again according to his circuits .
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All the rivers run into the sea ;
yet the sea is not full ;
unto the place from whence the rivers come ,
thither they return again .
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All things are full of labour ;
man cannot utter it :
the eye is not satisfied with seeing ,
nor the ear filled with hearing .
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The 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 .
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Is there any thing whereof it may be said ,
See ,
this is new ?
it hath been already of old time ,
which was before us .
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There is no remembrance of former things ;
neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after .
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I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem .
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And 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 .
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I have seen all the works that are done under the sun ;
and ,
behold ,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit .
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That which is crooked cannot be made straight :
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered .
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I 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 .
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And I gave my heart to know wisdom ,
and to know madness and folly :
I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit .
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For in much wisdom is much grief :
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow .
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I said in mine heart ,
Go to now ,
I will prove thee with mirth ,
therefore enjoy pleasure :
and ,
behold ,
this also is vanity .
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I said of laughter ,
It is mad :
and of mirth ,
What doeth it ?
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I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine ,
yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom ;
and to lay hold on folly ,
till I might see what was that good for the sons of men ,
which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life .
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I made me great works ;
I builded me houses ;
I planted me vineyards :
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I made me gardens and orchards ,
and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits :
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I made me pools of water ,
to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees :
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I got me servants and maidens ,
and had servants born in my house ;
also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me :
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I gathered me also silver and gold ,
and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces :
I gat me men singers and women singers ,
and the delights of the sons of men ,
as musical instruments ,
and that of all sorts .
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So I was great ,
and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem :
also my wisdom remained with me .
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And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them ,
I withheld not my heart from any joy ;
for my heart rejoiced in all my labour :
and this was my portion of all my labour .
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Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought ,
and on the labour that I had laboured to do :
and ,
behold ,
all was vanity and vexation of spirit ,
and there was no profit under the sun .
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And I turned myself to behold wisdom ,
and madness ,
and folly :
for what can the man do that cometh after the king ?
even that which hath been already done .
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Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly ,
as far as light excelleth darkness .
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The wise man '
s eyes are in his head ;
but the fool walketh in darkness :
and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all .
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Then said I in my heart ,
As it happeneth to the fool ,
so it happeneth even to me ;
and why was I then more wise ?
Then I said in my heart ,
that this also is vanity .
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For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever ;
seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten .
And how dieth the wise man ?
as the fool .
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Therefore I hated life ;
because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me :
for all is vanity and vexation of spirit .
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Yea ,
I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun :
because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me .
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And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool ?
yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured ,
and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun .
This is also vanity .
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Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun .
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For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom ,
and in knowledge ,
and in equity ;
yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion .
This also is vanity and a great evil .
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For what hath man of all his labour ,
and of the vexation of his heart ,
wherein he hath laboured under the sun ?
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For all his days are sorrows ,
and his travail grief ;
yea ,
his heart taketh not rest in the night .
This is also vanity .
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There is nothing better for a man ,
than that he should eat and drink ,
and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour .
This also I saw ,
that it was from the hand of God .
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For who can eat ,
or who else can hasten hereunto ,
more than I ?
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For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom ,
and knowledge ,
and joy :
but to the sinner he giveth travail ,
to gather and to heap up ,
that he may give to him that is good before God .
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit .
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To every thing there is a season ,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven :