Ecclesiastes 1:2

English Standard Version

²^(A)Vanity^[a] of vanities, says ^(B)the Preacher,
^(C)vanity of vanities! ^(D)All is vanity.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1:2 in all English translations

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14

English Standard Version

The Vanity of Wisdom

¹²I ^(A)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I ^(B)applied my heart^[a] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy ^(C)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(D)vanity^[b] and a striving after wind.^[c]

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)

Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

English Standard Version

The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸I hated ^(A)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(B)leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰So I ^(C)turned about and gave my heart up to despair ^(D)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²What has a man from ^(E)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³For ^(F)all his days are full of sorrow, and his ^(G)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.