The words of {Hebrew: Koheleth}the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
All the {Or, torrents}rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
{Or, All words are feeble}All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.
I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and {Or, a feeding on wind (see Hosea 12:1) Or, vexation of spirit (and so elsewhere)}a striving after wind.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and {Hebrew: defect}that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom {Or, yea, more than all}above all that were before me {Hebrew: over.}in Jerusalem; yea, my heart {Hebrew: hath seen abundantly.}hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Querverweise zu Prediger 1,4 Pred 1,4
For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, {Hebrew: the number of days.}all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:Thy years are throughout all generations.
Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same,And thy years shall have no end.
The children of thy servants shall continue,And their seed shall be established before thee.
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
and the days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters.
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enosh:
and Seth lived after he begat Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Kenan.
and Enosh lived after he begat Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
And Kenan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalalel:
and Kenan lived after he begat Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
And Mahalalel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begat Enoch:
and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters.
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall {Hebrew: nahem, to comfort.}comfort us {Hebrew: from.}in our work and {Hebrew: from.}in the toil of our hands, which cometh {Hebrew: from.}because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed.
And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
{Hebrew: He founded the earth upon its bases.}Who laid the foundations of the earth,That it should not be moved for ever.
And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
and Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran begat Lot.
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
And Sarai was barren; she had no child.
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations:Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
And these are the generations of Esau the father of {Hebrew: Edom.}the Edomites in mount Seir:
these are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.
And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, {In 1 Chronicles 1:36, Zephi}Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.
And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
And these were the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah.
These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the first-born of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,
chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek: these are the chiefs that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.
And these are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs that came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs: the same is Edom.
{Or, As for thine ordinances, they abide this day}They abide this day according to thine ordinances;For all things are thy servants.
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my {Or, sojournings}pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their {Or, sojournings}pilgrimage.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be {The most ancient manuscripts read discovered.}burned up.
Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,
looking for and {Or, hastening}earnestly desiring the {Greek: presence.}coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall melt with fervent heat?
But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari; and the years of the life of Levi were a hundred thirty and seven years.
The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred thirty and three years.
And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty and seven years.
And the sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.
And Aaron took him Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their families.
These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.
These are they that spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
Oh remember how short my time is:For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men!
What man is he that shall live and not see death,That shall deliver his soul from the {Hebrew: hand.}power of Sheol? [Selah
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath:We bring our years to an end as {Or, a sound}a sigh.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten,Or even by reason of strength fourscore years;Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow;For it is soon gone, and we fly away.
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?