4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever.
He laid the earth upon its foundations: it shall not be removed for ever.
The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.
For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?
But the day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall be dissolved, and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burnt up. All these things then being to be dissolved, what ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, by reason of which [the] heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall melt? But, according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
For all our days pass away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a [passing] thought. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if, by reason of strength, they be fourscore years, yet their pride is labour and vanity, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
I said, My ùGod, take me not away in the midst of my days! ... Thy years are from generation to generation. Of old hast thou founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands: *They* shall perish, but *thou* continuest; and all of them shall grow old as a garment: as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the Same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall abide, and their seed shall be established before thee.
Thy faithfulness is from generation to generation: thou hast established the earth, and it standeth. By thine ordinances they stand this day; for all things are thy servants.
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot [a son] in his likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth. And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Adam that he lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. And Seth lived after he had begotten Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. And Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. And Enosh lived after he had begotten Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalaleel. And Cainan lived after he had begotten Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. And Mahalaleel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. And Mahalaleel lived after he had begotten Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. And Jared lived after he had begotten Enoch eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methushelah. And Enoch walked with God after he had begotten Methushelah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. And Methushelah lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lemech. And Methushelah lived after he had begotten Lemech seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Methushelah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. And Lemech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, This [one] shall comfort us concerning our work and concerning the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah has cursed. And Lemech lived after he had begotten Noah five hundred and ninety-five years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Lemech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. And Reu lived after he had begotten Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. And Serug lived after he had begotten Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. And Nahor lived after he had begotten Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And these are the generations of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before the face of his father Terah in the land of his nativity at Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, a daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. And Sarai was barren: she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth together out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan, and came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, in mount Seir. These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Basmath the wife of Esau. -- And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bore to Esau Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basmath Esau's wife. -- And these are the sons of Oholibamah Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jaalam, chief Korah; these are the chiefs of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, and these their chiefs: he is Edom.
And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they do not attain to the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojourning.
And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was full of them.
And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty-three years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. And Amram took Jochebed his aunt as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years. And the sons of Jizhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zicri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri. And Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites. And Eleazar Aaron's son took [one] of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families. This is that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts. These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 1
Ec 1:1-18. Introduction.
1. the Preacher—and Convener of assemblies for the purpose. See my Preface. Koheleth in Hebrew, a symbolical name for Solomon, and of Heavenly Wisdom speaking through and identified with him. Ec 1:12 shows that "king of Jerusalem" is in apposition, not with "David," but "Preacher."
of Jerusalem—rather, "in Jerusalem," for it was merely his metropolis, not his whole kingdom.
2. The theme proposed of the first part of his discourse.
Vanity of vanities—Hebraism for the most utter vanity. So "holy of holies" (Ex 26:33); "servant of servants" (Ge 9:25). The repetition increases the force.
all—Hebrew, "the all"; all without exception, namely, earthly things.
vanity—not in themselves, for God maketh nothing in vain (1Ti 4:4, 5), but vain when put in the place of God and made the end, instead of the means (Ps 39:5, 6; 62:9; Mt 6:33); vain, also, because of the "vanity" to which they are "subjected" by the fall (Ro 8:20).
3. What profit … labour—that is, "What profit" as to the chief good (Mt 16:26). Labor is profitable in its proper place (Ge 2:15; 3:19; Pr 14:23).
under the sun—that is, in this life, as opposed to the future world. The phrase often recurs, but only in Ecclesiastes.
4. earth … for ever—(Ps 104:5). While the earth remains the same, the generations of men are ever changing; what lasting profit, then, can there be from the toils of one whose sojourn on earth, as an individual, is so brief? The "for ever" is comparative, not absolute (Ps 102:26).
5. (Ps 19:5, 6). "Panting" as the Hebrew for "hasteth"; metaphor, from a runner (Ps 19:5, "a strong man") in a "race." It applies rather to the rising sun, which seems laboriously to mount up to the meridian, than to the setting sun; the accents too favor Maurer, "And (that too, returning) to his place, where panting he riseth."
6. according to his circuits—that is, it returns afresh to its former circuits, however many be its previous veerings about. The north and south winds are the two prevailing winds in Palestine and Egypt.
7. By subterraneous cavities, and by evaporation forming rain clouds, the fountains and rivers are supplied from the sea, into which they then flow back. The connection is: Individual men are continually changing, while the succession of the race continues; just as the sun, wind, and rivers are ever shifting about, while the cycle in which they move is invariable; they return to the point whence they set out. Hence is man, as in these objects of nature which are his analogue, with all the seeming changes "there is no new thing" (Ec 1:9).
8. Maurer translates, "All words are wearied out," that is, are inadequate, as also, "man cannot express" all the things in the world which undergo this ceaseless, changeless cycle of vicissitudes: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing them," &c. But it is plainly a return to the idea (Ec 1:3) as to man's "labor," which is only wearisome and profitless; "no new" good can accrue from it (Ec 1:9); for as the sun, &c., so man's laborious works move in a changeless cycle. The eye and ear are two of the taskmasters for which man toils. But these are never "satisfied" (Ec 6:7; Pr 27:20). Nor can they be so hereafter, for there will be nothing "new." Not so the chief good, Jesus Christ (Joh 4:13, 14; Re 21:5).
9. Rather, "no new thing at all"; as in Nu 11:6. This is not meant in a general sense; but there is no new source of happiness (the subject in question) which can be devised; the same round of petty pleasures, cares, business, study, wars, &c., being repeated over and over again [Holden].
10. old time—Hebrew, "ages."
which was—The Hebrew plural cannot be joined to the verb singular. Therefore translate: "It hath been in the ages before; certainly it hath been before us" [Holden]. Or, as Maurer: "That which has been (done) before us (in our presence, 1Ch 16:33), has been (done) already in the old times."
11. The reason why some things are thought "new," which are not really so, is the imperfect record that exists of preceding ages among their successors.
those that … come after—that is, those that live still later than the "things, rather the persons or generations, Ec 1:4, with which this verse is connected, the six intermediate verses being merely illustrations of Ec 1:4 [Weiss], that are to come" (Ec 2:16; 9:5).
12. Resumption of Ec 1:1, the intermediate verses being the introductory statement of his thesis. Therefore, "the Preacher" (Koheleth) is repeated.
was king—instead of "am," because he is about to give the results of his past experience during his long reign.
in Jerusalem—specified, as opposed to David, who reigned both in Hebron and Jerusalem; whereas Solomon reigned only in Jerusalem. "King of Israel in Jerusalem," implies that he reigned over Israel and Judah combined; whereas David, at Hebron, reigned only over Judah, and not, until he was settled in Jerusalem, over both Israel and Judah.
13. this sore travail—namely, that of "searching out all things done under heaven." Not human wisdom in general, which comes afterwards (Ec 2:12, &c.), but laborious enquiries into, and speculations about, the works of men; for example, political science. As man is doomed to get his bread, so his knowledge, by the sweat of his brow (Ge 3:19) [Gill].
exercised—that is, disciplined; literally, "that they may thereby chastise, or humble themselves."
14. The reason is here given why investigation into man's "works" is only "sore travail" (Ec 1:13); namely, because all man's ways are vain (Ec 1:18) and cannot be mended (Ec 1:15).
vexation of—"a preying upon"
the Spirit—Maurer translates; "the pursuit of wind," as in Ec 5:16; Ho 12:1, "Ephraim feedeth on wind." But old versions support the English Version.
15. Investigation (Ec 1:13) into human ways is vain labor, for they are hopelessly "crooked" and "cannot be made straight" by it (Ec 7:13). God, the chief good, alone can do this (Isa 40:4; 45:2).
wanting—(Da 5:27).
numbered—so as to make a complete number; so equivalent to "supplied" [Maurer]. Or, rather, man's state is utterly wanting; and that which is wholly defective cannot be numbered or calculated. The investigator thinks he can draw up, in accurate numbers, statistics of man's wants; but these, including the defects in the investigator's labor, are not partial, but total.
16. communed with … heart—(Ge 24:45).
come to great estate—Rather, "I have magnified and gotten" (literally, "added," increased), &c.
all … before me in Jerusalem—namely, the priests, judges, and two kings that preceded Solomon. His wisdom exceeded that of all before Jesus Christ, the antitypical Koheleth, or "Gatherer of men," (Lu 13:34), and "Wisdom" incarnate (Mt 11:19; 12:42).
had … experience—literally, "had seen" (Jer 2:31). Contrast with this glorying in worldly wisdom (Jer 9:23, 24).
17. wisdom … madness—that is, their effects, the works of human wisdom and folly respectively. "Madness," literally, "vaunting extravagance"; Ec 2:12; 7:25, &c., support English Version rather than Dathe, "splendid matters." "Folly" is read by English Version with some manuscripts, instead of the present Hebrew text, "prudence." If Hebrew be retained, understand "prudence," falsely so called (1Ti 6:20), "craft" (Da 8:25).
18. wisdom … knowledge—not in general, for wisdom, &c., are most excellent in their place; but speculative knowledge of man's ways (Ec 1:13, 17), which, the farther it goes, gives one the more pain to find how "crooked" and "wanting" they are (Ec 1:15; 12:12).