Ecclesiastes 1:9-18

⁹That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which will be done: and there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath God given to the children of men to weary themselves therewith.

¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have become great and have acquired wisdom more than all they that have been before me over Jerusalem; and my heart hath seen much of wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁷And I applied my heart to the knowledge of wisdom, and to the knowledge of madness and folly: I perceived that this also is a striving after the wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.