The Words of the Teacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.
For everything there is a season: a time to gather stones, and a time to cast away stones.
What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. No matter how much we see, we are never
satisfied.
Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”?
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
[in the end] the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. All is vanity.
The Teacher [who is Jesus Christ] searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
