Ecclesiastes 1:12-14

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Futility of Seeking Wisdom

¹² I, the Teacher,^[a] when king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³ applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. ¹⁴ I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.^[b]