Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

2The Teacher says, ‘Nothing has a purpose. Nothing that ever happens has a purpose.’

3People work very hard while they live on the earth. But in the end, what do they receive in return for their work?

4Old people die and then their children live after them. But the earth continues and it never changes.

5The sun rises in the morning and it disappears in the evening. Then it quickly moves to rise again the next morning.

6The wind blows to the south. Then it turns to the north. It blows in every direction. Then it starts again.

7All rivers pour water into the sea, but the sea does not become full. The water returns to the rivers and it all happens again.

8Everything continues in the same way. There is nothing important to talk about. Nothing that we see is enough to make us happy. There are always more things that we want to hear.

9Things that are happening now will continue to happen in the future. What people have done before, other people will do again. There is nothing truly new anywhere on the earth.

10People may say, ‘Look! Here is something new!’ But really it happened long ago, before we were born.

11People do not remember things that happened in the past. In the future, people will not remember what has happened either.