Ecclesiastes Chapter 1

Study Notes

King James Version

Young's Literal Translation

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 vapor of vapors, says the Preacher, vapor of vapors; all is vapor.
3 What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the Earth abides to the eon.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goes toward the South, and turns about to the North; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; the rivers return again to the place from which they come.
8 All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It has been already of eonian time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this unpleasant travail God has given to the sons of man to be humiliated .
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, all is vapor and longing of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yes, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is longing of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all [is] vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea [is] not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things [are] full of labour; man cannot utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.
10 Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 [There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all [things] that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 [That which is] crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all [they] that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

1 Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
3 What advantage [is] to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?
4 A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.
5 Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.
6 Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.
7 All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.
8 All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.
9 What [is] that which hath been? it [is] that which is, and what [is] that which hath been done? it [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which [one] saith: 'See this, it [is] new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!
11 There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
12 I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
14 I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit!
15 A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
16 I -- I spake with my heart, saying, 'I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] vexation of spirit;
18 for, in abundance of wisdom [is] abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'

There are 12 chapters in "Ecclesiastes":

End

If you seek God, you will find Him through His Son, Jesus.

Contact Form

You can feel free to use this Contact Form to ask any question regarding this pattern of Scripture. The Church, the Body of Christ, and discernment of this Body, is the method that God is using to finish the work in His Body. The Body of Christ, God's Temple, is built up by that which every joint supplies, building each other up in love, and the Temple must be built according to the pattern of Scripture. If you would like to ask any other question on any subject or submit a correction or suggestion you may use this form.

Please remember to include your email address if you want an answer.

Put a Link To This Page on Your Site.
HTML Code:

Links:
SeekFind.net ~ Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
Ecclesiastes Chapter 1

Learn more about God's plan for you: read

You can feel free to use the Contact Form further down on this page to ask any question regarding this pattern of Scripture. The Church, the Body of Christ, and discernment of this Body, is the method that God is using to finish the work in His Body. The Body of Christ, God's Temple, is built up by that which every joint supplies, building each other up in love, and the Temple must be built according to the pattern of Scripture.

We believe the Holy Scriptures teach:

The 5 apostolic ministries (Ephesians 4:11)
The nine gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
Local congregations overseen by elders and deacons (Titus 1:5)
Every member having and being a ministry in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11)
Being led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
The gathering together of the Body of Christ (Genesis 49:10, John 17:21)