Ecclesiastes 1
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.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Ecclesiastes 1.
Who is Qoheleth?
The Hebrew title קֹהֶלֶת is related to qahal, “assembly.” The book presents Qoheleth as a son of David and king in Jerusalem, strongly evoking Solomon, but many scholars understand this as a literary royal persona rather than a straightforward author signature.
What does hevel really mean?
הֶבֶל literally refers to vapor or breath. In Ecclesiastes it can suggest transience, elusiveness, frustration, or absurdity depending on context; no single English gloss captures every occurrence.
Explore the HebrewWhy do many scholars date Ecclesiastes relatively late?
Its Hebrew includes features associated with Late Biblical Hebrew and the book’s social setting is often read against Persian or early Hellenistic Yehud. The precise date remains debated, and linguistic dating must be used cautiously.
Sources to ExploreCurated research paths for this chapter 3
Language & Literature3
- The Book of Ecclesiastes: Date, Authorship, and Literary VoiceOxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion
Academic overview of Ecclesiastes as one of the Hebrew Bible’s latest and most intellectually distinctive books. It discusses the debated identity of Qoheleth, the book’s probable postexilic setting, its framed first-person discourse, and the difference between traditional Solomonic attribution and modern historical scholarship.
- What Does Hevel Mean in Ecclesiastes?BibleProject
Explains the Hebrew word *hevel*, traditionally rendered vanity or meaninglessness but literally associated with vapor, breath, or mist. The article helps readers understand Ecclesiastes 1 as describing life’s fleeting, elusive, and difficult-to-control character rather than simply declaring that nothing matters.
- Who Wrote Ecclesiastes—and What Does Qoheleth Mean?Zondervan Academic
Scholarly introduction to the mysterious speaker called Qoheleth, a Hebrew title variously translated Teacher, Preacher, Gatherer, or Convener. It explains why Ecclesiastes evokes a royal son of David without directly naming Solomon and introduces the distinction between the book’s speaker and its framing narrator.
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