English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 1:14
14I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:14
12I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 15What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16I said in my heart, "I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge."
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:14 word by word
רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־כָּל־הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים שֶֽׁנַּעֲשׂ֖וּ תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה הַכֹּ֛ל הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:14
- Ecclesiastes 1:17And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
- 1 Kings 4:30so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
- Psalms 39:5Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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