Every post in Ecclesiastes, in order. Tap a post for the whole conversation, or the book icon for the verses.
The Teacher here. Son of David, king in Jerusalem. I’ll give you my conclusion first. Futile. Utterly futile. Everything is futile. The word I use means breath. You see it for a second, then it’s gone.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
Honest question. You work your whole life under the sun. What do you actually get out of it?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
The sun comes up, goes down, and hurries round to come up again. Every river runs into the sea, and the sea’s never full.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
There is nothing new under the sun.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Replying to @theteacher
Okay but this is literally new, though.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
Some background. I was king over Israel, in Jerusalem, and I set out to study everything that’s done under heaven. What a miserable job God has given people to keep them busy.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
More wisdom, more grief. The more you know, the more it hurts.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
Experiment one: pleasure. Go on, I told myself, enjoy yourself. Futile. Laughter? Stupid. Pleasure? What does it actually achieve?
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”
What I did next, in order: 1. Built houses. 2. Planted vineyards. 3. Gardens and parks, every kind of fruit tree. 4. Reservoirs to water it all. 5. Servants. 6. More herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 7. Silver, gold, the treasure of kings. 8. Singers. I became greater than anyone who’d lived in Jerusalem before me. And I kept my wisdom the whole time.
I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines. So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.
Replying to @theteacher
Anything I wanted, I had. I never said no to myself. Then I looked at all of it, everything my hands had made. Futile. Chasing the wind. Nothing gained under the sun.
Anything 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. Yet 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.
The wise man has eyes in his head. The fool walks around in the dark. Then it hit me: the same thing happens to both of them. Nobody remembers either of them for long. The wise man dies just like the fool.
The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. For 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!
I hate everything I’ve worked for, because I’ll have to leave it all to whoever comes after me. And who knows if he’ll be wise or a fool? He gets it either way.
I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
Best thing I’ve found so far: eat, drink, and enjoy your work. And that comes from God’s hand. Without him, who can enjoy anything?
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?
There’s a time for everything. A season for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. To plant and to pull up. To kill and to heal. To tear down and to build. To cry and to laugh. To mourn and to dance. To hold someone close, and to hold back. To keep and to throw away. To tear and to mend. To keep quiet and to speak. To love and to hate. For war, and for peace.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put eternity in our hearts. And we still can’t work out what God is doing from beginning to end.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
People and animals end up the same way. Same breath in both. Everyone goes to the same place. All from dust, and all back to dust.
Adam@adamThen the hard words. Thorns and thistles. Sweat for every meal, until I go back to the ground I came from. He said I’m dust, and I’ll go back to dust.For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile. All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
Replying to @theteacher
Who knows if a person’s spirit goes up and an animal’s goes down into the ground?
Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
I saw the tears of people being crushed. Nobody to comfort them. All the power on the side of the ones crushing them. And nobody to comfort them.
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
Better one handful with peace and quiet than two handfuls of hard work and chasing the wind.
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
No son, no brother. The work never stops, and it’s never enough. Who am I even doing this for?
There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
Two are better than one. If one falls, the other helps him up. Pity the one who falls with nobody there. Two lying down together keep warm. How do you keep warm on your own? And a cord of three strands isn’t quickly broken.
A man on his own@alone.and.busyNo son, no brother. The work never stops, and it’s never enough. Who am I even doing this for?Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Going to God’s house? Go to listen. Don’t rush to say something in front of God. God is in heaven and you’re on earth. So keep your words few.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
Replying to @theteacher
Made God a promise? Don’t put off keeping it. Better not to promise at all than to promise and not follow through.
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
If you love money, you’ll never have enough of it.
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
A worker sleeps well, whether he’s eaten a little or a lot. The rich man has so much he can’t sleep.
The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
Replying to @theteacher
Can confirm. Out like a light.
The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
We come into the world naked, and we leave the same way. We can’t take a single thing we worked for with us.
Job@jobI tore my robe and shaved my head, and I fell on the ground and worshipped.
I came into the world with nothing, and I’ll leave with nothing. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Praise the name of the LORD.As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
Here’s what I’ve seen that’s good: eat, drink and enjoy your work, in the few days of life God gives you. That’s your share. And being able to enjoy it is a gift from God.
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
A good name is better than expensive perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you’re born.
Solomon@solomonA good name is worth more than great riches.A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
Replying to @theteacher
Wait, what? Better than the day you’re born?
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
Things were better in my day. Why’s that, then?
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Replying to @old.in.jerusalem
That’s not a wise question.
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
When times are good, be happy. When times are bad, think about this: God made the one as well as the other.
In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
In my short, futile life I’ve seen both. A good man dying young, for all his goodness. A wicked man living a long time, for all his wickedness.
In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
There isn’t one person on earth so good that they always do right and never sin.
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Don’t listen to everything people say. You might hear your own servant cursing you. And you know full well you’ve cursed plenty of people yourself.
Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
Nobody can hold on to the wind. And nobody has any say over the day they die.
As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
Good people getting what the wicked deserve. Wicked people getting what the good deserve. Futile. So I recommend enjoying life. There’s nothing better under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
A live dog is better than a dead lion.
There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
Go on. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart. Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the fleeting days God has given you.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
Whatever you find to do, do it with all your strength. In the grave, where you’re going, there’s no work and no planning.
Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
The race isn’t won by the fastest, or the battle by the strongest. The wise don’t always get bread, or the clever get rich. Time and chance happen to everyone.
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
A small city with only a few men in it. A great king surrounds it and builds siege ramps. There was a poor man in the city who was wise, and he saved it. Nobody remembered that poor man.
There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it. Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
Dead flies make the perfume stink. A little foolishness outweighs a lot of wisdom.
As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Don’t curse the king, even in your head. Don’t curse the rich, even in your bedroom. A bird might carry your words.
Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech.
Send your bread out across the water. After a long time, you’ll find it again.
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
Keep watching the wind and you’ll never sow. Keep looking at the clouds and you’ll never reap.
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
Young man, enjoy being young. Be happy while you are. Go wherever your heart and your eyes take you. But know that God will judge you for all of it.
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
Replying to @theteacher
Remember your Creator while you’re young. Before the hard years come, the ones you’ll say you get no pleasure from.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
The hard years: hands that shake, strong men bent over, the few teeth left stop grinding, eyes going dim. You’re up at the first bird, and all the songs grow faint. Scared of heights, scared of the road. Hair white as almond blossom. Then off to your eternal home, and the mourners in the street.
on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly, when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint, when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets.
Replying to @theteacher
Up with the first bird. Tell me about it.
when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
Remember him before the silver cord snaps and the golden bowl breaks. Before the dust goes back to the ground it came from, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Futile. Utterly futile. Everything is futile.
The Teacher@theteacherThe Teacher here. Son of David, king in Jerusalem.
I’ll give you my conclusion first. Futile. Utterly futile. Everything is futile.
The word I use means breath. You see it for a second, then it’s gone.“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
A note from me, not him. The Teacher was wise, and he taught people what he knew. He weighed up and arranged a lot of proverbs. He looked for the right words, and he wrote down what was true.
Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.
One more thing, son. Be warned: people will never stop writing books, and too much study wears you out.
And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
So here’s where it all lands. Fear God and keep his commands. That’s what every person is here for. God will judge everything we do, even what’s hidden, good or bad.
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.