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Ecclesiastes 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Editor’s Note[a]
Chapter 1
1 The words of Qoheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! Everything is vanity.
3 What profit does anyone gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?[c]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 The author is introduced under the name of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, i.e., a person whose function is to speak in the assembly (ekklesia in Greek, qahal in Hebrew). His editor has come up with a happy formula to sum up the author’s thinking (Vanity of vanities . . .); it is so good that he will repeat it as a conclusion. And, since the Book represents a new line of thought, he puts it on the lips of Solomon—without naming him but using the phrase son of David.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity: Hebrew word meaning “mist,” “breath,” or “puff of wind” (see Pss 39:6, 12; 62:10; 144:4). The author uses it in the sense of the illusory nature of things. Vanity of vanities: an expression that indicates the greatest degree of uselessness and emptiness.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 Jesus expands on this same theme in Mk 8:36-38. Under the sun: i.e., the present world and its limits. A synonym is “under heaven” (see v. 13; 2:3; 3:1).
