'Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.' Hevel (vapor, breath), is the verdict tested through the whole book. Generations come and go while the earth abides; sun, wind, and rivers run their weary circuits; 'there is no new thing under the sun.' The Preacher, king in Jerusalem, gives his heart to search out by wisdom all that is done: 'a sore travail'; in much wisdom is much grief, 'and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.'

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

Poetry · Solomon — Ecclesiastes overview

A. 1–11 Vanity of Vanities: the Sun Rises, the Rivers Run
B. 12–18 I Gave My Heart to Seek Out Wisdom — and Found Grief

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Ecclesiastes 28 verses
- Ecclesiastes 2:3I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
- Ecclesiastes 2:9So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
- Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Read Ecclesiastes 2: 2 more there →
Ecclesiastes 34 verses
- Ecclesiastes 3:9What does the worker gain from his toil?
- Ecclesiastes 3:10I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.
- Ecclesiastes 3:14I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.
- Ecclesiastes 3:15What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
- Read Ecclesiastes 3 →
Ecclesiastes 122 verses
- Ecclesiastes 12:8“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
- Ecclesiastes 12:12And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
- Read Ecclesiastes 12 →
Ecclesiastes 12 verses
- Ecclesiastes 1:1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
- Ecclesiastes 1:12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- Read Ecclesiastes 1 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Ecclesiastes 72 verses
- Ecclesiastes 7:12For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
- Ecclesiastes 7:27“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
- Read Ecclesiastes 7 →
Ecclesiastes 52 verses
- Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
- Read Ecclesiastes 5 →
Ecclesiastes 62 verses
- Ecclesiastes 6:10Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
- Read Ecclesiastes 6 →
1 Kings 42 verses
- 1 Kings 4:1So King Solomon ruled over Israel,
- 1 Kings 4:30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
- Read 1 Kings 4 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.