Everything Is Meaningless
1These are the words of the Teacher. He was the son of David. He was also the king in Jerusalem.
2“Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Everything is completely meaningless!
Nothing has any meaning.”
3What do people get for all their work?
Why do they work so hard on this earth?
4People come and people go.
But the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises. Then it sets.
And then it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind blows to the south.
Then it turns to the north.
Around and around it goes.
It always returns to where it started.
7Every stream flows into the ocean.
But the ocean never gets full.
The streams return
to the place they came from.
8All things are tiresome.
They are more tiresome than anyone can say.
But our eyes never see enough of anything.
Our ears never hear enough.
9Everything that has ever been will come back again.
Everything that has ever been done will be done again.
Nothing is new on earth.
10There isn’t anything about which someone can say,
“Look! Here’s something new.”
It was already here long ago.
It was here before we were.
11No one remembers the people of long ago.
Even those who haven’t been born yet
won’t be remembered
by those who will be born after them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13I decided to study things carefully. I used my wisdom to check everything out. I looked into everything that is done on earth. What a heavy load God has put on human beings! 14I’ve seen what is done on this earth. All of it is meaningless. It’s like chasing the wind.
15People can’t straighten things that are crooked.
They can’t count things that don’t even exist.
16I said to myself, “Look, I’ve now grown wiser than anyone who ruled over Jerusalem in the past. I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge.” 17Then I used my mind to understand what it really means to be wise. And I wanted to know what foolish pleasure is all about. But I found out that it’s also like chasing the wind.
18A lot of human wisdom leads to a lot of sorrow.
More knowledge only brings more sadness.
Walang Kabuluhan ang Lahat
1Ito ang sinabi ng mangangaral1:1 mangangaral: o, guro; o, isang matalinong tao. na anak ni David na hari ng Jerusalem:
2Walang kabuluhan! Walang kabuluhan ang lahat! 3Ano ang pakinabang ng tao sa pagpapakahirap niyang magtrabaho sa mundong ito? 4Lumilipas ang isang henerasyon at napapalitan, pero ang mundo ay hindi nagbabago. 5Sumisikat ang araw at pagkatapos ay lumulubog; pabalik-balik lang sa kanyang pinanggalingan. 6Umiihip ang hangin sa timog at pagkatapos ay iihip naman sa hilaga. Paikot-ikot lang ito at pabalik-balik. 7Lahat ng ilog ay umaagos sa dagat, pero hindi naman napupuno ang dagat kahit na patuloy ang pag-agos ng ilog. 8Ang lahat ng itoʼy nakakabagot at ayaw na ngang pag-usapan. Hindi nagsasawa ang mga mata natin sa katitingin at ang mga tainga natin sa pakikinig. 9Ang mga nangyari noon, nangyayari ulit ngayon. Ang mga ginawa noon, ginagawa ulit ngayon. Walang nangyayaring bago sa mundo. 10May mga bagay pa ba na masasabi mong bago? Nariyan na iyan noon pa, kahit noong hindi pa tayo ipinapanganak. 11Hindi na natin naaalala ang mga nangyari noon; ganoon din sa hinaharap, hindi rin ito maaalala ng mga tao sa bandang huli.
Ang Karunungan ng Tao ay Walang Kabuluhan
12Ako na isang mangangaral ay naging hari ng Israel. Tumira ako sa Jerusalem. 13Sa aking karunungan, pinag-aralan kong mabuti ang lahat ng nangyayari rito sa mundo. At nakita kong napakahirap ng gawaing ibinigay ng Dios sa mga tao. 14Nakita kong walang kabuluhan ang lahat ng ginagawa ng tao rito sa mundo. Para kang humahabol sa hangin. 15Ang baluktot ay hindi mo maitutuwid at ang wala ay hindi mo maibibilang.
16Sinabi ko sa aking sarili, “Mas marunong ako kaysa sa lahat ng naging hari sa Jerusalem. Marami akong alam.” 17Pinag-aralan kong mabuti ang pagkakaiba ng karunungan at kamangmangan, pero nakita kong wala rin itong kabuluhan. Para kang humahabol sa hangin. 18Dahil habang nadadagdagan ang kaalaman ko, nadadagdagan din ang aking kalungkutan.
