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Good News Translation
Ecclesiastes 1:2
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“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
"Vanity of vanities," says Kohelet; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
"Futility of futilities," says the Preacher, "Futility of futilities! All is futility."
The Teacher says, "Useless! Useless! Completely useless! Everything is useless."
"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher. "Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God's guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind]."
"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
Vanitie of vanities, sayth the Preacher: vanitie of vanities, all is vanitie.
"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher,"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
"Futility of futilities," says the Teacher, "futility of futilities! Everything is futile!"
Nothing makes sense! Everything is nonsense. I have seen it all— nothing makes sense!
Pointless! Pointless! — says Kohelet — Utterly meaningless! Nothing matters!
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.
Everything is so meaningless. The Teacher says that it is all a waste of time!
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
"Vanity of vanities!" says the Teacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!"
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity!
All is but vanite (saieth ye preacher) all is but playne vanite.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
Uanitie of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanitie of vanities, all is vanitie.
All is but most vayne vanitie saith the preacher, & all is most vayne [I say] and but playne vanitie.
Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
The vanyte of vanytees, seide Ecclesiastes; the vanyte of vanytees, and alle thingis ben vanite.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all [is] vanity.
"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!"
"Vanity [fn] of vanities," says the Preacher;"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
"Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "completely meaningless!"
"It is of no use," says the Preacher. "It is of no use! All is for nothing."
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Vanity of vanities! saith the Proclaimer, vanity of vanities! all, is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That's what the Quester says.] There's nothing to anything—it's all smoke. What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it's business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again. Everything's boring, utterly boring— no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There's nothing new on this earth. Year after year it's the same old thing. Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"? Don't get excited—it's the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody'll remember them either. Don't count on being remembered.
"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:15, Ecclesiastes 2:17, Ecclesiastes 2:19, Ecclesiastes 2:21, Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 2:26, Ecclesiastes 3:19, Ecclesiastes 4:4, Ecclesiastes 4:8, Ecclesiastes 4:16, Ecclesiastes 5:10, Ecclesiastes 6:11, Ecclesiastes 11:8, Ecclesiastes 11:10, Ecclesiastes 12:8, Psalms 39:5, Psalms 39:6, Psalms 62:9, Psalms 62:10, Psalms 144:4, Romans 8:20
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:17 - cursed Esther 5:13 - Yet all this Psalms 78:33 - years Psalms 119:96 - I have seen Proverbs 23:5 - that which Proverbs 30:8 - Remove Ecclesiastes 6:9 - this Ecclesiastes 7:27 - saith Jeremiah 2:13 - broken cisterns Acts 25:23 - with 1 Timothy 2:7 - a preacher
Cross-References
So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.
Then God commanded, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin;
God stretched out the northern sky and hung the earth in empty space.
But these are only hints of his power, only the whispers that we have heard. Who can know how truly great God is?
The Lord created the heavens by his command, the sun, moon, and stars by his spoken word.
The Lord created the heavens— he is the one who is God! He formed and made the earth— he made it firm and lasting. He did not make it a desolate waste, but a place for people to live. It is he who says, "I am the Lord , and there is no other god.
Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate! Hearts melt with fear; knees tremble, strength is gone; faces grow pale.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher,.... This is the preacher's text; the theme and subject he after enlarges upon, and proves by an induction of particulars; it is the sum of the whole book;
vanity of vanities, all [is] vanity; most extremely vain, exceedingly so, the height of vanity: this is repeated, both for the confirmation of it, men being hard of belief of it; and to show how much the preacher was affected with it himself, and to affect others with the same. The Targum reads, "vanity of vanities [in] this world"; which is right as to the sense of the passage; for though the world, and all things in it, were made by God, and are very good; yet, in comparison of him, are less than nothing, and vanity; and especially as become subject to it through sin, a curse being brought upon the earth by it; and all the creatures made for the use of men liable to be abused, and are abused, through luxury, intemperance, and cruelty; and the whole world usurped by Satan, as the god of it. Nor is there anything in it, and put it all together, that can give satisfaction and contentment; and all is fickle, fluid, transitory, and vanishing, and in a short time will come to an end: the riches of the world afford no real happiness, having no substance in them, and being of no long continuance; nor can a man procure happiness for himself or others, or avert wrath to come, and secure from it; and especially these are vanity, when compared with the true riches, the riches of grace and glory, which are solid, substantial, satisfying, and are for ever: the honours of this world are empty things, last a very short time; and are nothing in comparison of the honour that comes from God, and all the saints have, in the enjoyment of grace here, and glory hereafter: the sinful pleasures of life are imaginary things, short lived ones; and not to be mentioned with spiritual pleasures, enjoyed in the house of God, under the word and ordinances; and especially with those pleasures, for evermore, at the right hand of God. Natural wisdom and knowledge, the best thing in the world; yet much of it is only in opinion; a great deal of it false; and none saving, and of any worth, in comparison of the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ; all the forms of religion and external righteousness, where there is not the true fear and grace of God, are all vain and empty things. Man, the principal creature in the world, is "vain man"; that is his proper character in nature and religion, destitute of grace: every than is vain, nay, vanity itself; high and low, rich and poor, learned or unlearned; nay, man at his best estate, as worldly and natural, is so; as even Adam was in his state of innocence, being fickle and mutable, and hence he fell, Psalms 39:5; and especially his fallen posterity, whose bodies are tenements of clay; their beauty vain and deceitful; their circumstances changeable; their minds empty of all that is good; their thoughts and imaginations vain; their words, and works, and actions, and their whole life and conversation; they are not at all to be trusted in for help, by themselves or others. The Targum is,
"when Solomon, king of Israel, saw, by the spirit of prophecy, that the kingdom of Rehoboam his son would be divided with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; and that Jerusalem, and the house of the sanctuary, would be destroyed, and the people of the children of Israel would be carried captive; he said, by his word, Vanity of vanities in this world, vanity of vanities; all that I and my father David have laboured for, all is vanity!''
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Vanity - This word ××× hebel, or, when used as a proper name, in Genesis 4:2, âAbelâ, occurs no less than 37 times in Ecclesiastes, and has been called the key of the book. Primarily it means âbreath,â âlight wind;â 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: it is also applied to:
(4) idols, as contrasted with the Living, Eternal, and Almighty God, and, thus, in the Hebrew mind, it is connected with sin.
In this book it is applied to all works on earth, to pleasure, grandeur, wisdom, the life of man, childhood, youth, and length of days, the oblivion of the grave, wandering and unsatisfied desires, unenjoyed possessions, and anomalies in the moral government of the world.
Solomon speaks of the world-wide existence of âvanity,â not with bitterness or scorn, but as a fact, which forced itself on him as he advanced in knowledge of men and things, and which he regards with sorrow and perplexity. From such feelings he finds refuge by contrasting this with another fact, which he holds with equal firmness, namely, that the whole universe is made and is governed by a God of justice, goodness, and power. The place of vanity in the order of Divine Providence - unknown to Solomon, unless the answer be indicated in Ecclesiastes 7:29 - is explained to us by Paul, Romans 8:0, where its origin is traced to the subjugation and corruption of creation by sin as a consequence of the fall of man; and its extinction is declared to be reserved until after the Resurrection in the glory and liberty of the children of God.
Vanity of vanities - A well-known Hebrew idiom signifying vanity in the highest degree. Compare the phrase, âholy of holies.â
All - Solomon includes both the courses of nature and the works of man Ecclesiastes 1:4-11. Compare Romans 8:22.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ecclesiastes 1:2. Vanity 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 vapour flies,
Dispersed by lightest blast, so fleet thy joys,
And leave no trace behind. This serious truth
The royal preacher loud proclaims, convinced
By sad experience; with a sigh repeats
The mournful theme, that nothing here below
Can solid comfort yield: 'tis all a scene.
Of vanity, beyond the power of words
To express, or thought conceive. Let every man
Survey himself, then ask, what fruit remains
Of all his fond pursuits? What has he gain'd,
By toiling thus for more than nature's wants
Require? Why thus with endless projects rack'd
His heated brain, and to the labouring mind,
Repose denied? Why such expense of time,
That steals away so fast, and ne'er looks back?
Could man his wish obtain, how short the space
For his enjoyment! No less transient here
The time of his duration, than the things
Thus anxiously pursued. For, as the mind,
In search of bliss, fix'd on no solid point,
For ever fluctuates; so our little frames,
In which we glory, haste to their decline,
Nor permanence can find. The human race
Drop like autumnal leaves, by spring revived:
One generation from the stage of life
Withdraws, another comes, and thus makes room
For that which follows. Mightiest realms decay,
Sink by degrees; and lo! new form'd estates
Rise from their ruins. Even the earth itself,
Sole object of our hopes and fears,
Shall have its period, though to man unknown."
