Ecclesiastes 12:8

Ecclesiastes 12:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
• New International Version (NIV)“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is vanity.”

Context of Ecclesiastes 12:8

6Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.” 9Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 word by word

הֲבֵ֧ל הֲבָלִ֛ים אָמַ֥ר הַקּוֹהֶ֖לֶת הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the preacherקֹהֶ֫לֶתqôheleth · preacherH6953

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 12:8

• Ecclesiastes 1:2“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 6:12In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?
• Ecclesiastes 8:8None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.
• Psalms 62:9Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8This affecting and minute description of old age and death is concluded by the author with the same exclamation by which he began this book: O vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth, all is vanity. Now that man, the masterpiece of God's creation, the delegated sovereign of this lower world, is turned to dust, what is there stable or worthy of contemplation besides? All - All is Vanity!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-14Verses 8-14 This passage is properly regarded as the Epilogue of the whole book; a kind of apology for the obscurity of many of its sayings. The passage serves therefore to make the book more intelligible and more acceptable. Here, as in the beginning of the book Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, the Preacher speaks of himself Ecclesiastes 12:8-10 in the third person. He first repeats Ecclesiastes 12:8 the mournful, perplexing theme with which his musings began…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-14Verses 8-14 Solomon repeats his text, VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY. These are the words of one that could speak by dear-bought experience of the vanity of the world, which can do nothing to ease men of the burden of sin. As he considered the worth of souls, he gave good heed to what he spake and wrote; words of truth will always be acceptable words. The truths of God are as goads to such as are dull and draw back, and nails to such as are wandering…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8This almost exact repetition of Ecclesiastes 1:2 summarizes the Teacher's conclusion.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-128-12. A summary of the first part. Vanity, &c.--Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Conclusion
• Creator
• Heed
• Judgment
• Remember
• Whole
• Dead

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings