Berean Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 1:2
Ecclesiastes 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:2
1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” 3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:2 word by word
הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:2
- 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.
- Ecclesiastes 3:19For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 6:11For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?
- Ecclesiastes 11:8So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 12:8“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
- 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
- Psalms 62:9Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
- Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
- Romans 8:20For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Vanity of vanities - As the words are an exclamation, it would be better to translate, O vanity of vanities! Emptiness of emptinesses. True, substantial good is not to be found in any thing liable to change and corruption. The author referred to in the introduction begins his paraphrase thus: - "O vain deluding world! whose largest gifts Thine emptiness betray, like painted clouds, Or watery bubbles: as the vapor flies, Dispersed by lightest blast, so…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Vanity - This word הבל hebel or, when used as a proper name, in Genesis 4:2, “Abel”, occurs no less than 37 times in Ecclesiastes, and has been called the key of the book. Primarily it means “breath,” “light wind;” and denotes what: (1) passes away more or less quickly and completely; (2) leaves either no result or no adequate result behind, and therefore (3) fails to satisfy the mind of man, which naturally craves for something permanent and progressive…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Futility of futilities...Everything is futile (literally vapor of vapors): Whenever "meaningless" appears in this book, it translates the Hebrew word hebel, which means "breath" or "vapor." The Teacher concludes that everything is temporary and lacks meaning, like vapor.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. The theme proposed of the first part of his discourse. Vanity of vanities--Hebraism for the most utter vanity. So "holy of holies" (Ex 26:33); "servant of servants" (Ge 9:25). The repetition increases the force. all--Hebrew, "the all"; all without exception, namely, earthly things. vanity--not in themselves, for God maketh nothing in vain (1Ti 4:4, 5), but vain when put in the place of God and made the end, instead of the means (Psa 39:5, 6; 62:9; Mt…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:2
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Literally vapor or breath; the Hebrew words translated in Ecclesiastes as forms of futile or fleeting can also be translated as vanity or meaningless. ↩
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
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