2  ^cVanity² of vanities, says ^athe Preacher,

^cvanity of vanities! ^dAll is vanity.

3  ^eWhat ^fdoes man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

4  A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but ^gthe earth remains forever.

5  ^hThe sun rises, and the sun goes down,

and hastens¹ to the place where it rises.

6  ⁱThe wind blows to the south

and goes around to the north;

around and around goes the wind,

and on its circuits the wind returns.

7  All ^jstreams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

8  All things are full of weariness;

a man cannot utter it;

^kthe eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing.