THE WORDS OF

THE TEACHER

קֹהֶלֶת

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“The greatest of vapors,” says the Teacher,
“The greatest of vapors. Everything is vapor.
What profit has a man from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
One generation passes away and another generation comes,
but the earth abides forever.
The sun rises and goes down, and the sun hastens to the place where it arose.
The wind goes toward the south and turns around to the north -
around and around the wind whirls about and it comes again on its circuit.
All the rivers run into the sea, and yet the sea is not full -
to the place from which the rivers come, there they will return again.
All things are wearisome - a man cannot express it,
nor is the eye satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing.
What has been is what will be, and what is done is what will be done.
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything about which it may be said, “See, this is new?”