the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 1:1
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The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The wordes of the preacher ye sonne of Dauid kyng of Hierusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
These are the words from the Teacher, a son of David and king of Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The wordes of the Preacher, the son of Dauid, King in Ierusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
These are the wordes of the Preacher, the sonne of Dauid, kynge of Ierusalem.
These are the words of the Quester, David's son and king in Jerusalem
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, and he said:
The words of Kohelet the son of David, king in Yerushalayim:
The wordes of the Preacher, the sonne of Dauid King in Ierusalem.
THE words of Kohlat, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of Kohelet, the son of David, king in Yerushalayim:
The words of Koheleth, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Israel in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, a son of David, king in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Philosopher, David's son, who was king in Jerusalem.
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The wordis of Ecclesiastes, sone of Dauid, the kyng of Jerusalem.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the Preacher: Ecclesiastes 1:12, Ecclesiastes 7:27, Ecclesiastes 12:8-10, Nehemiah 6:7, Psalms 40:9, Isaiah 61:1, Jonah 3:2, 2 Peter 2:5
king: Ecclesiastes 1:12, 1 Kings 11:42, 1 Kings 11:43, 2 Chronicles 9:30, 2 Chronicles 10:17-19
Reciprocal: Ecclesiastes 12:10 - Preacher 1 Timothy 2:7 - a preacher
Cross-References
And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And that is what happened.
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars.
God set these lights in the sky to light the earth,
And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."
Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."
And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life." And that is what happened.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The words of the preacher,.... Or the preacher's sermon. The whole book is one continued discourse, and an excellent one it is; consisting not of mere words, but of solid matter; of things of the greatest importance, clothed with words apt and acceptable, which the preacher sought out, Ecclesiastes 12:10. The Targum is,
"the words of the prophecy, which the preacher, who is Solomon, prophesied.''
According to which this book is prophetic; and so it interprets it, and owns it to be Solomon's. The word "Koheleth", rendered "preacher", is by some taken to be a proper name of Solomon; who, besides the name of Solomon, his parents gave him, and Jedidiah, as the Lord called him, had the name of Koheleth; nay, the Jews say i, he had seven names, and to these three add four more, Agur, Jake, Ithiel, and Lemuel; the word by many is left untranslated k; but it seems rather to be an appellative, and is by some rendered "gathered", or the "soul gathered" l. Solomon had apostatized from the church and people of God, and had followed idols; but now was brought back by repentance, and was gathered into the fold, from whence he had strayed as a lost sheep; and therefore chooses to call himself by this name, when he preached his recantation sermon, as this book may be said to be. Others rather render it, "the gatherer" m; and was so called, as the Jewish writers say n, either because he gathered and got much wisdom, as it is certain he did; or because he gathered much people from all parts, to hear his wisdom, 1 Kings 4:34; in which he was a type of Christ, Genesis 49:10; or this discourse of his was delivered in a large congregation, got together for that purpose; as he gathered and assembled together the heads and chief of the people, at the dedication of the temple, 1 Kings 8:1; so he might call them together to hear the retraction he made of his sins and errors, and repentance for them: and this might justly entitle him to the character of a "preacher", as we render it, an office of great honour, as well as of great importance to the souls of men; which Solomon, though a king, did not disdain to appear in; as David his father before him, and Noah before him, the father, king, and governor of the new world, Psalms 34:11. The word used is in the feminine gender, as ministers of the Gospel are sometimes expressed by a word of the like kind; and are called maidens, Psalms 68:11; to denote their virgin purity, and uncorruptness in doctrine and conversation: and here some respect may be had to Wisdom, or Christ, frequently spoken of by Solomon, as a woman, and who now spoke by him; which is a much better reason for the use of the word than his effeminacy, which his sin or his old age had brought him to. The word "soul" may be supplied, as by some, and be rendered, "the preaching soul" o; since, no doubt, he performed his work as such with all his heart and soul. He further describes himself by his descent,
the son of David; which he mentions either as an honour to him, that he was the son of so great, so wise, so holy, and good a man; or as an aggravation of his fall, that being the descendant of such a person, and having had so religious an education, and so good an example before him, and yet should sin so foully as he had done; and it might also encourage him, that he had interest in the sure mercies of David, and in the promises made to him, that when his children sinned, they should be chastised, yet his lovingkindness and covenant should not depart from them.
King of Jerusalem; not of Jerusalem only, but of all Israel, for as yet no division was made; see Ecclesiastes 1:12. In Jerusalem, the city of Wisdom, as Jarchi observes, where many wise and good men dwelt, as well as it was the metropolis of the nation; and, which was more, it was the city where the temple stood, and where the worship of God was performed, and his priests ministered, and his people served him; and yet he, their king, that should have set them a better example, fell into idolatry!
i Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 3. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 60. 3. k קהלת "Koheleth", Broughton, Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius. Rambachius. l η ψυχη η επισυναγομενη, "anima congregata", Cocceius, m "Collector", Arabic version; "congregator, q. d. sapientia congregatrix", Amama, Rambachius; "the gathering soul, either recollecting itself, or by admonitions gathering others", Lightfoot, vol. 2. p. 76. n Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 3. & Jarchi, Aben Ezra, & Baruch in loc. Pesikta Rabbati apud Yalkut, ut supra. (in Kohelet, l. 1.) o "Concionatrix anima", Vatablus, Piscator.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Preacher - literally, Convener. No one English word represents the Hebrew קהלת qôheleth adequately. Though capable, according to Hebrew usage, of being applied to men in office, it is strictly a feminine participle, and describes a person in the act of calling together an assembly of people as if with the intention of addressing them. The word thus understood refers us to the action of Wisdom personified Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 8:8. In Proverbs and here, Solomon seems to support two characters, speaking sometimes in the third person as Wisdom instructing the assembled people, at other times in the first person. So our Lord speaks of Himself (compare Luke 11:49 with Matthew 23:34) as Wisdom, and as desiring Luke 13:34 to gather the people together for instruction; It is unfortunate that the word “Preacher” does not bring this personification before English minds, but a different idea.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
ECCLESIASTES OR, THE PREACHER
-Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3027.
-Year from the Flood of Noah, according to the common Hebrew text, 1371.
-Year before the birth of Christ, 973.
-Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 977.
-N. B. The time when this book was written is very uncertain: the above chronology is agreeable to that contained in the present authorized version.
CHAPTER I
The prophet shows that all human courses are vain, 1-4.
The creatures are continually changing, 5-8.
There is nothing new under the sun, 9-11.
Who the prophet was, his estate and his studies, 12-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. I
Verse Ecclesiastes 1:1. The words of the Preacher — Literally, "The words of Choheleth, son of David, king of Jerusalem." But the Targum explains it thus: "The words of the prophecy, which Choheleth prophesied; the same is Solomon, son of David the king, who was in Jerusalem. For when Solomon, king of Israel, saw by the spirit of prophecy that the kingdom of Rehoboam his son was about to be divided with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; and the house of the sanctuary was about to be destroyed, and the people of Israel sent into captivity; he said in his word -Vanity of vanities is all that I have laboured, and David my father; they are altogether vanity."
The word קהלת Koheleth is a feminine noun, from the root קהל kahal, to collect, gather together, assemble; and means, she who assembles or collects a congregation; translated by the Septuagint, εκκλησιαστης, a public speaker, a speaker in an assembly; and hence translated by us a preacher. In my old MS. Bible it is explained thus: a talker to the peple; or togyder cleping.
