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)