Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 - Qohelet Introduces His Quest

¹² I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied. ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom is much sorrow;
as knowledge increases, grief increases.