Ecclesiastes 1:14

Ecclesiastes 1:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
• New International Version (NIV)I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:14

12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. 15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

Ecclesiastes 1:14 word by word

רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־כָּל־הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים שֶֽׁנַּעֲשׂ֖וּ תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה הַכֹּ֛ל הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear

• I have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the thingsמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• that are doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• and have found themהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• to be futileהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• a pursuitרְעוּתre‛ûth · longingH7469
• of the windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:14

• Ecclesiastes 1:17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
• 1 Kings 4:30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
• Psalms 39:5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Behold, all is vanity - After all these discussions and experiments, when even the results have been the most successful, I have found only rational satisfaction; but not that supreme good by which alone the soul can be made happy. O curas hominum! O quantum est in rebus inane! "How anxious are our cares, and yet how vain The bent of our desires!" Pers. Sat. i., 5: 1.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Vexation of spirit - A phrase which occurs 7 times, and may be otherwise translated, “feeding on wind.” Modern Hebrew grammarians assert that the word rendered “vexation” must be derived from a root signifying “to feed,” “follow,” “strive after.” This being admitted, it remains to choose between two translations: (1) “striving after wind,” or “windy effort;” adopted by the Septuagint and the majority of modern interpreters; or (2) feeding on wind. Compare…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 12-18 Solomon tried all things, and found them vanity. He found his searches after knowledge weariness, not only to the flesh, but to the mind. The more he saw of the works done under the sun, the more he saw their vanity; and the sight often vexed his spirit. He could neither gain that satisfaction to himself, nor do that good to others, which he expected. Even the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom discovered man's wickedness and misery; so that the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14a pursuit of the wind.: Life comes and goes quickly, just like the wind.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. The reason is here given why investigation into man's "works" is only "sore travail" (Ec 1:13); namely, because all man's ways are vain (Ec 1:18) and cannot be mended (Ec 1:15). vexation of--"a preying upon" the Spirit--Maurer translates; "the pursuit of wind," as in Ec 5:16; Ho 12:1, "Ephraim feedeth on wind." But old versions support the English Version.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:14

• Instruction
• Investigation
• Science
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Sun
• Vanity
• Ecclesiastes, the Preacher
• Synagogue, the Great
• teacher, Teacher

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings