Read the Bible

¹ These are the wordes of the Preacher, the sonne of Dauid, kynge of Ierusalem.² All is but vanite (saieth ye preacher) all is but playne vanite.³ For what els hath a ma, of all the labor yt he taketh vnder the Sonne?

⁴ One generacio passeth awaye, another commeth, but the earth abydeth still.⁵ The Sone aryseth, the Sonne goeth downe, & returneth to his place, yt he maye there ryse vp agayne.⁶ The wynde goeth towarde ye South, & fetcheth his copase aboute vnto the North, & so turneth in to himself agayne.⁷ All floudes runne in to the see, & yet the see is not fylled: for loke vnto what place the waters runne, thence they come agayne.⁸ All thinges are so harde, yt no ma can expresse them. The eye is not satisfied wt sight, the eare is not fylled wt hearinge.

⁹ The thinge yt hath bene, cometh to passe agayne: & ye thinge yt hath bene done, is done agayne, there is no new thinge vnder the Sonne.¹⁰ Is there eny thinge, wherof it maye be sayde: lo, this is new? For it was loge agoo in the tymes yt haue bene before vs.¹¹ The thinge yt is past, is out of remebraunce: Eue so the thiges that are for to come, shal no more be thought vpo amoge the that come after.

¹² I myself ye Preacher, beynge kynge of Israel & Ierusale,¹³ applyed my mynde to seke out & search for the knowlege of all thiges yt are done vnder heaue. Soch trauayle & labor hath God geue vnto ye childre of me, to exercyse the selues theri.¹⁴ Thus I haue considered all the thinges that come to passe vnder the Sone, & lo, they are all but vanite & vexacion of mynde.¹⁵ The croked can not be mayde straight, & the fautes ca not be nobred.¹⁶ I comoned wt myne owne herte, sayege: lo, I am come to a greate estate, and haue gotte more wy?dome, the all they yt haue bene before me in Ierusalem. Yee my hert had greate experiece of wy?dome & knowlege,¹⁷ for there vnto I applyed my mynde: yt I might knowe what were wy?dome & vnderstodinge, what were error & foolishnes. And I perceaued yt this also was but a vexacion of mynde:¹⁸ for where moch wy?dome is, there is also greate trauayle & disquietnes: & ye more knowlege a man hath, the more is his care.