| 1 | Ord af Prædikeren, Davids Søn, Konge i Jerusalem. | ¶ The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
| 2 | Endeløs Tomhed, sagde Prædikeren, endeløs Tomhed, alt er Tomhed! | Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all {is} vanity. |
| 3 | Hvad Vinding har Mennesket af al den Flid, han gør sig under Solen? | What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? |
| 4 | Slægt går, og Slægt kommer, men Jorden står til evig Tid. | ¶ {One} generation passeth away, and {another} generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. |
| 5 | Sol står op, og Sol går ned og haster igen til sin Opgangs Sted. | The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. {hasteth: Heb. panteth} |
| 6 | Vinden går mod Syd og drejer mod Nord, den drejer atter og atter og vender tilbage til samme Kredsløb. | The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. |
| 7 | Alle Bække løber i Havet, men Havet bliver ikke fuldt; det Sted, til hvilket Bækkene løber, did bliver de ved at løbe. | All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea {is} not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. {return...: Heb. return to go} |
| 8 | Alting slider sig træt; Mand hører ikke op med at tale, Øjet bliver ikke mæt af at se, Øret ej fuldt af at høre. | All things {are} full of labour; man cannot utter {it}: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. |
| 9 | Det, der kommer, er det, der var, det, der sker, er det, der skete; der er slet intet nyt under Solen. | ¶ The thing that hath been, it {is that} which shall be; and that which is done {is} that which shall be done: and {there is} no new {thing} under the sun. |
| 10 | Ej mindes de svundne Slægter, og de ny, som kommer engang, skal ej heller mindes af dem, som kommer senere hen. | Is there {any} thing whereof it may be said, See, this {is} new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. |
| 11 | Jeg, Prædikeren, var Konge over Israel i Jerusalem. | {There is} no remembrance of former {things}; neither shall there be {any} remembrance of {things} that are to come with {those} that shall come after. |
| 12 | Jeg vendte min Hu til at ransage og med Visdom udgranske alt, hvad der sker under Himmelen; det er et ondt Slid, som Gud har givet Menneskens Børn at slide med. | ¶ I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13 | Jeg så alt, hvad der sker under Solen, og se, det er alt sammen Tomhed og Jag efter Vind. | And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all {things} that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. {to be...: or, to afflict them} |
| 14 | Kroget kan ej blive lige, og halvt kan ej blive helt. | I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all {is} vanity and vexation of spirit. |
| 15 | Jeg vendte min Hu til at fatte, hvad der er Visdom og Kundskab, og hvad der er Dårskab og Tåbelighed; jeg skønnede, at også det er Jag efter Vind. | {That which is} crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. {that which is wanting: Heb. defect} |
| 16 | Thi megen Visdom megen Græmmelse, øget Kundskab øget Smerte. | I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all {they} that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. {had...: Heb. had seen much} |
| 17 | And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. | |
| 18 | For in much wisdom {is} much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. |