FIRST SECTION.
IN WHICH THE PROBLEM OF THE BOOK IS INDIRECTLY STATED.
Chap. I., vv. 1-11.
1 The words of the Preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, 3 Since man hath no profit from all his labour Which he laboureth under the sun! [23] 4 One generation passeth, and another generation cometh; While the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down; And panteth toward the place at which it will rise again. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and veereth to the north; It whirleth round and round; And the wind returneth on its course. 7 All the streams run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; To the place whence the streams came, thither they return again. 8 All things are weary with toil. Man cannot utter it. The eye can never be satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear with hearing. 9 What hath been will be, And that which is done is that which will be done; And there is no new thing under the sun. 10 If there be anything of which it is said, "Behold, this is new!" It hath been long ago, in the ages that were before us. 11 There is no remembrance of those who have been; Nor will there be any remembrance of men who are to come Among those that will live after them.
[23] Just as we speak of this "sublunary world," so "under the sun" is the characteristic designation of the earth throughout this Book.
THE QUEST OF THE CHIEF GOOD IN WISDOM AND IN PLEASURE.
Chap. I., v. 12, to Chap. II., v. 26.
The Quest in Wisdom. Ch. i., vv. 12-18.
12 I, the Preacher, was King over Israel, in Jerusalem: 13 And I applied my heart to survey and search by wisdom Into all that is done under heaven: This sore task hath God given to the children of men, To exercise themselves therewith.
Ver. 13. To survey and search into, etc. The verbs indicate the broad extent which his researches covered, and the depth to which they penetrated.
14 I have considered all the works that are done under the sun, And, behold, they are all vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ver. 14. Vexation of spirit. Literally, "striving after the wind." But the time-honoured phrase, "vexation of spirit," sufficiently expresses the writer's meaning; and it seems better to retain it than, with the Revised Version, to introduce the Hebrew metaphor, which has a somewhat novel and foreign sound.
15 That which is crooked cannot be set straight, And that which is lacking cannot be made up. 16 Therefore I spake to my heart, saying, Lo, I have acquired greater wisdom Than all who were before me in Jerusalem, My heart having seen much wisdom and knowledge; 17 For I had given my heart to find knowledge and wisdom. I perceive that even this is vexation of spirit;
Ver. 17. To find knowledge and wisdom. Both the Authorized and Revised Versions render "to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly." The latter clause, however, violates both the sense and the grammatical construction. The word translated "to know" is not an infinitive, but a noun, and should be rendered "knowledge;" the word translated "folly" means "prudence," and the word translated "madness" hardly means more than "folly." The text, too, seems corrupt. The sense of the passage is against it, I think, as it now stands; for the design of the Preacher is simply to show the insufficiency of wisdom and knowledge, not to prove folly foolish. On the whole, therefore, it seems better to follow the high authority which arranges the text as it is here rendered. The Hebraist will find the question fully discussed in Ginsburg.
18 For in much wisdom is much sadness,
And to multiply knowledge is to multiply sorrow.
The Quest in Pleasure. Ch ii., vv. 1-11.
1 Then I said to my heart,
Go to, now let me prove thee with mirth,
And thou shalt see pleasure:
And, lo, this too is vanity!
2 To mirth I said, Thou art mad!
And to pleasure, What canst thou do?
3 I thought in my heart to cheer my body with pleasure,
While my spirit guided it wisely,
And to lay hold on folly,
Till I should see what it is good for the sons of men to do under
heaven,
Through the brief day of their life.
4 I gave myself to great works;
I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
5 I made me gardens and parks,
And I planted in them all manner of fruit-trees;
6 I made me tanks of water,
From which to water the groves:
7 I bought me men-servants and maid-servants,
And had servants born in my house.
I had also many herds of oxen and sheep,
More than all who were before me in Jerusalem:
8 I heaped up silver and gold,
And the treasures of kings and of kingdoms:
I got me men-singers and women-singers;
And took delight in many fair concubines:
9 So that I surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem,
My wisdom abiding with me;
10 And nothing that my eyes desired did I withhold from them,
I did not keep back my heart from any pleasure;
For my heart took joy in all my toil,
And this was my portion therefrom.
11 But when I turned to look on all the works which my hands had
wrought,
And at the labour which it cost me to accomplish them,
Behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit,
And there was no profit under the sun.