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Ecclesiastes
Chapter One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 1
After
the title of the book, which describes the author of it, by his office, as a
preacher; by his descent, as the son of David; and by his dignity, king in
Jerusalem, Ecclesiastes 1:1;
the principal doctrine insisted on in it is laid down, that the world, and all
things in it, are most vain things, Ecclesiastes 1:2.
Which is proved in general, by the unprofitableness of all labour to attain
them, be they what they will, wisdom, knowledge, riches, honours, and
pleasures, Ecclesiastes 1:3;
by the short continuance of men on earth, though that abides, Ecclesiastes 1:4;
by the constant revolution, going and returning, of the most useful creatures,
the sun, winds, and water, Ecclesiastes 1:5;
by the unfruitful and unsatisfactory labour all things are full of, Ecclesiastes 1:8;
by the continual repetition of the same things, and the oblivion of them, Ecclesiastes 1:9;
and by Solomon's own experience in one particular thing; his search after, and
acquisition of, knowledge and wisdom, which he attained a large share of; and
which he found attended with labour, difficulty, and little satisfaction; nay,
was vanity and vexation of spirit; for, as his knowledge increased, so did his
grief and sorrow, Ecclesiastes 1:12.
Ecclesiastes 1:1 The
words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
YLT 1Words of a preacher, son of
David, king in Jerusalem:
The words of the preacher,.... Or the preacher's
sermon. The whole book is one continued discourse, and an excellent one it is;
consisting not of mere words, but of solid matter; of things of the greatest
importance, clothed with words apt and acceptable, which the preacher sought
out, Ecclesiastes 12:10.
The Targum is,
"the
words of the prophecy, which the preacher, who is Solomon, prophesied.'
According
to which this book is prophetic; and so it interprets it, and owns it to be
Solomon's. The word "Koheleth", rendered "preacher", is by
some taken to be a proper name of Solomon; who, besides the name of Solomon,
his parents gave him, and Jedidiah, as the Lord called him, had the name of
Koheleth; nay, the Jews sayF9Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 3. Midrash
Kohelet, fol. 60. 3. , he had seven names, and to these three add four more,
Agur, Jake, Ithiel, and Lemuel; the word by many is left untranslatedF11קהלת "Koheleth", Broughton, Pagninus, Montanus,
Cocceius. Rambachius. ; but it seems rather to be an appellative, and is by
some rendered "gathered", or the "soul gathered"F12 η ψυχη η επισυναγομενη,
"anima congregata", Cocceius, . Solomon had apostatized from the
church and people of God, and had followed idols; but now was brought back by
repentance, and was gathered into the fold, from whence he had strayed as a
lost sheep; and therefore chooses to call himself by this name, when he
preached his recantation sermon, as this book may be said to be. Others rather
render it, "the gatherer"F13"Collector", Arabic
version; "congregator, q. d. sapientia congregatrix", Amama,
Rambachius; "the gathering soul, either recollecting itself, or by
admonitions gathering others", Lightfoot, vol. 2. p. 76. ; and was so
called, as the Jewish writers sayF14Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 3.
& Jarchi, Aben Ezra, & Baruch in loc. Pesikta Rabbati apud Yalkut, ut
supra. (in Kohelet, l. 1.) , either because he gathered and got much wisdom, as
it is certain he did; or because he gathered much people from all parts, to
hear his wisdom, 1 Kings 4:34; in
which he was a type of Christ, Genesis 49:10; or
this discourse of his was delivered in a large congregation, got together for
that purpose; as he gathered and assembled together the heads and chief of the
people, at the dedication of the temple, 1 Kings 8:1; so he
might call them together to hear the retraction he made of his sins and errors,
and repentance for them: and this might justly entitle him to the character of
a "preacher", as we render it, an office of great honour, as well as
of great importance to the souls of men; which Solomon, though a king, did not
disdain to appear in; as David his father before him, and Noah before him, the
father, king, and governor of the new world, Psalm 34:11. The
word used is in the feminine gender, as ministers of the Gospel are sometimes
expressed by a word of the like kind; and are called maidens, Psalm 68:11; to
denote their virgin purity, and uncorruptness in doctrine and conversation: and
here some respect may be had to Wisdom, or Christ, frequently spoken of by
Solomon, as a woman, and who now spoke by him; which is a much better reason
for the use of the word than his effeminacy, which his sin or his old age had
brought him to. The word "soul" may be supplied, as by some, and be
rendered, "the preaching soul"F15"Concionatrix
anima", Vatablus, Piscator. ; since, no doubt, he performed his work as
such with all his heart and soul. He further describes himself by his descent,
the son of David; which he mentions either as an honour to
him, that he was the son of so great, so wise, so holy, and good a man; or as
an aggravation of his fall, that being the descendant of such a person, and
having had so religious an education, and so good an example before him, and
yet should sin so foully as he had done; and it might also encourage him, that
he had interest in the sure mercies of David, and in the promises made to him,
that when his children sinned, they should be chastised, yet his lovingkindness
and covenant should not depart from them.
King of Jerusalem; not of Jerusalem only, but of all Israel,
for as yet no division was made; see Ecclesiastes 1:12.
In Jerusalem, the city of Wisdom, as Jarchi observes, where many wise and good
men dwelt, as well as it was the metropolis of the nation; and, which was more,
it was the city where the temple stood, and where the worship of God was
performed, and his priests ministered, and his people served him; and yet he,
their king, that should have set them a better example, fell into idolatry!
Ecclesiastes 1:2 2 “Vanity[a] of
vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity
of vanities, all is vanity.”
YLT 2Vanity of vanities, said
the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher,.... This is
the preacher's text; the theme and subject he after enlarges upon, and proves
by an induction of particulars; it is the sum of the whole book;
vanity of vanities, all is vanity; most
extremely vain, exceedingly so, the height of vanity: this is repeated, both
for the confirmation of it, men being hard of belief of it; and to show how
much the preacher was affected with it himself, and to affect others with the
same. The Targum reads, "vanity of vanities in this world";
which is right as to the sense of the passage; for though the world, and all
things in it, were made by God, and are very good; yet, in comparison of him,
are less than nothing, and vanity; and especially as become subject to it
through sin, a curse being brought upon the earth by it; and all the creatures
made for the use of men liable to be abused, and are abused, through luxury,
intemperance, and cruelty; and the whole world usurped by Satan, as the god of
it. Nor is there anything in it, and put it all together, that can give satisfaction
and contentment; and all is fickle, fluid, transitory, and vanishing, and in a
short time will come to an end: the riches of the world afford no real
happiness, having no substance in them, and being of no long continuance; nor
can a man procure happiness for himself or others, or avert wrath to come, and
secure from it; and especially these are vanity, when compared with the true
riches, the riches of grace and glory, which are solid, substantial,
satisfying, and are for ever: the honours of this world are empty things, last
a very short time; and are nothing in comparison of the honour that comes from
God, and all the saints have, in the enjoyment of grace here, and glory
hereafter: the sinful pleasures of life are imaginary things, short lived ones;
and not to be mentioned with spiritual pleasures, enjoyed in the house of God,
under the word and ordinances; and especially with those pleasures, for
evermore, at the right hand of God. Natural wisdom and knowledge, the best
thing in the world; yet much of it is only in opinion; a great deal of it
false; and none saving, and of any worth, in comparison of the knowledge of
Christ, and of God in Christ; all the forms of religion and external
righteousness, where there is not the true fear and grace of God, are all vain
and empty things. Man, the principal creature in the world, is "vain
man"; that is his proper character in nature and religion, destitute of
grace: every than is vain, nay, vanity itself; high and low, rich and poor,
learned or unlearned; nay, man at his best estate, as worldly and natural, is
so; as even Adam was in his state of innocence, being fickle and mutable, and
hence he fell, Psalm 39:5; and especially
his fallen posterity, whose bodies are tenements of clay; their beauty vain and
deceitful; their circumstances changeable; their minds empty of all that is
good; their thoughts and imaginations vain; their words, and works, and
actions, and their whole life and conversation; they are not at all to be
trusted in for help, by themselves or others. The Targum is,
"when
Solomon, king of Israel, saw, by the spirit of prophecy, that the kingdom of
Rehoboam his son would be divided with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; and that
Jerusalem, and the house of the sanctuary, would be destroyed, and the people
of the children of Israel would be carried captive; he said, by his word,
Vanity of vanities in this world, vanity of vanities; all that I and my father
David have laboured for, all is vanity!'
Ecclesiastes 1:3 3 What profit has a man from
all his labor In
which he toils under the sun?
YLT 3What advantage [is] to man
by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the
sun? This is a general proof of the vanity of all things, since there
is no profit arises to a man of all his labour; for, though it is put by way of
question, it carries in it a strong negative. All things a man enjoys he gets
by labour; for man, through sin, is doomed and born unto it, Job 5:7; he gets
his bread by the sweat of his brow, which is a part of the curse for sin; and
the wealth and riches got by a diligent hand, with a divine blessing, are got
by labour; and so all knowledge of natural and civil things is acquired through
much labour and weariness of the flesh; and these are things a man labours for
"under the sun", which measures out the time of his labour: when the
sun riseth, man goeth forth to his labour; and, by the light and comfortable
warmth of it, he performs his work with more exactness and cheerfulness; in
some climates, and in some seasons, its heat, especially at noon, makes labour
burdensome, which is called, bearing "the heat and burden of the
day", Matthew 20:12; and,
when it sets, it closes the time of service and labour, and therefore the
servant earnestly desires the evening shadow, Job 7:2. But now,
of what profit and advantage is all this labour man takes under the sun, towards
his happiness in the world above the sun? that glory and felicity, which lies
in super celestial places in Christ Jesus? none at all. Or, "what remains
of all his labour?"F16מה יתדון בכל עמלו
"quid habet amplius homo?" V. L. "quid residui?" Vatablus,
Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus, Rambachius; "quantum enim homini reliquum
est, post omnem saum laborem?" Tigurine version. as it may be rendered;
that is, after death: so the Targum,
"what
is there remains to a man after he is dead, of all his labour which he laboured
under the sun in this world?'
nothing
at all. He goes naked out of the world as he came into it; he can carry nothing
away with him of all his wealth and substance he has acquired; nor any of his
worldly glory, and grandeur, and titles of honour; these all die with him, his
glory does not descend after him; wherefore it is a clear case that all these
things are vanity of vanities; see Job 1:21. And,
indeed, works of righteousness done by men, and trusted in, and by which they
labour to establish a justifying righteousness, are of no profit and advantage
to them in the business of justification and salvation; indeed, when these are
done from right principles, and with right views, the labour in them shall not
be in vain; God will not forget it; it shall have a reward of grace, though not
of debt.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 4 One
generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides
forever.
YLT 4A generation is going, and
a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.
One generation passeth away,
and another generation cometh,.... This shows that a
man can have no profit of all his labour under the sun, because of his short
continuance; as soon almost as he has got anything by his labour, he must leave
it: not only particular persons, but families, nations, and kingdoms; even all
the inhabitants of the world, that are contemporaries, live together in the
same age, in a certain period of time; these gradually go off by death, till
the whole generation is consumed, as the generation of the Israelites in the
wilderness were. Death is meant by passing away; it is a going out of time into
eternity; a departure out of this world to another; a quitting of the earthly
house of this tabernacle for the grave, the house appointed for all living; it
is man's going to his long home: and this is going the way of all the earth; in
a short time a whole race or generation of men go off the stage of the world,
and then another succeedsF17"Nihil enim semper floret, aetas
succedit aetati", Cicero. Orat. Philip. 11. ; they come in by birth; and
men are described from their birth by such as "come into the world";
for which there is a set time, as well as for going out, John 1:9; and these
having been a while in the world, go off to make room for another generation;
and so things have been from the beginning of the world, and will be to the end
of it. HomerF18Iliad. 6. v. 146, &c. So Musaeus apud Clement.
Stromat. l. 6. p 649. "Ut silvae foliis", &c. Horat. de Arte
Poctica, v. 60. illustrates this by the succession of leaves of trees; as is
the generation of trees, he says, such is that of men; some leaves, the wind
sheds them on the ground; others the budding forest puts forth, and they grow
in their room in the springtime; so is the generation of men; one is born, and
another ceases. Now death puts an end to all a man's enjoyments got by labour,
his riches, honour, and natural knowledge; these all cease with him, and
therefore he has no profit of all his labour under the sun;
but the earth abideth for ever; for a long time, until
the dissolution of all things; and then, though that and all in it will be
burnt up, yet it will rather be changed than destroyed; the form of it will be
altered, when the substance of it will continue; it will not be annihilated,
but renewed and refined. This is mentioned to show that the earth, which was
made for man, of which he is the inhabitant and proprietor, is more stable than
he himself; he soon passes off from it, but that continues; he returns to the
earth, from whence he came, but that remains as it did; he dies, and leaves the
earth behind him, and all his acquisitions in it; and therefore what profit has
he of all his labours on it? Besides, that remains to have the same things
transacted on it, over and over again, as has been already; God, that made it
for men to dwell in, has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds
of men's habitations in it; he has appointed who shall dwell on it, and where,
in successive generations; and till all these men are born and gone off, age
after age, the earth shall continue, and then pass through its last change. The
Targum is,
"the
earth stands for ever, to bear the vengeance that is to come upon the world for
the sins of the children of men.'
The
Midrash Tanchuma, as Jarchi observes, interprets it of all the righteous of
Israel, called the earth; and he himself, of the meek that shall inherit the
earth: says R. IsaacF19Apud R. Joseph. Titatzak in loc. ,
"one
kingdom comes, and another goes, but Israel abideth for ever.'
Ecclesiastes 1:5 5 The sun also rises, and
the sun goes down, And
hastens to the place where it arose.
YLT 5Also, the sun hath risen,
and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his
place where he arose. The sun rises in the morning and sets at evening in our
hemisphere, according to the appearance of things; and then it makes haste to
go round the other hemisphere in the night: it "pants", as the wordF20שואפ "anhelus", Montanus, Tigurine version;
"anhelat", Drusius, Piscator, Cocceius, Amama; "anhelaus
est", Rambachius; "doth he breathe", Broughton. signifies; the
same figure is used by other writersF21"Placebits
anhelat", Claudian. Epigrarm. "Equis oriens afflavit anhelis",
Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. v. 250. Aeneid, l. 5. ; like a man out of breath with
running; so this glorious body, which rejoiceth as a strong man to run his
race, and whose circuit is from one end of the heavens to the other, Psalm 19:5; is in
haste to get to the place where he rose in the morning, and there he makes no
stop, but pursues his course in the same track again. By this instance is
exemplified the succession of the generations of men one after another, as the
rising and setting of the sun continually follows each other; and also sets
forth the restless state of things in the world, which, like the sun, are never
at a stand, but always moving, and swiftly taking their course; and likewise
the changeable state of man, who, like the rising sun, and when at noon day, is
in flourishing circumstances, and in the height of prosperity, but as this
declines and sets, so he has his declining times and days of adversity.
Moreover, like the rising sun, he comes into this world and appears for a
while, and then, like the setting sun, he dies; only with this difference, in
which the sun has the preference to him, as the earth before had; the sun
hastens and comes to its place from whence it arose, but man lies down and
rises not again till the heavens be no more, and never returns to his place in
this world, that knows him no more, Job 7:10. The JewsF23Apud
R. Joseph. Titatzak in loc. Midrash Kohelet in loc. say, before the sun of one
righteous, man sets, the sun of another righteous man rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:6 6 The wind goes toward the
south, And turns
around to the north; The
wind whirls about continually, And
comes again on its circuit.
YLT 6Going unto the south, and
turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going,
and by its circuits the wind hath returned.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north,.... The word
"wind" is not in this clause in the original text, but is taken from
the next, and so may be rendered, "it goeth towards the south",
&c. that is, the sunF24Jarchi, Alshech, and Titatzak, interpret
it of the sun; so Mercerus, Varenius, Gejerus; accordingly Mr. Broughton
renders it "he walketh to the south." before mentioned, which as to
its diurnal and nocturnal course in the daytime goes towards the south, and in
the night towards the north; and as to its annual course before the winter
solstice it goes to the south, and before the summer solstice to the north, as
interpreters observe. And the Targum not only interprets this clause, but even
the whole verse, of the sun, paraphrasing the whole thus,
"it
goes all the side of the south in the daytime, and goes round to the side of
the north in the night, by the way of the abyss; it goes its circuit, and comes
to the wind of the south corner in the revolution of Nisan and Tammuz; and by
its circuit it returns to the wind of the north corner in the revolution of
Tisri and Tebet; it goes out of the confines of the east in the morning, and
goes into the confines of the west in the evening.'
But
Aben Ezra understands the whole of the wind, as our version and others do,
which is sometimes in the south point of the heavens, and is presently in the
north;
it whirleth about continually; and the wind returneth again
according to his circuits; which may be meant of the circuits of the
sun, which has a great influence on the wind, often raising it in a morning and
laying it at night; but it is the wind itself which whirls and shifts about all
the points of the compass, and returns from whence it came, where the treasures
of it are. Agreeably to Solomon's account of the wind is Plato's definition of
it,
"the
wind is the motion of the air round about the earthF25Definition. p.
1337. Ed. Ficin. .'
This
also exemplifies the rotation of men and things, the instability, inconstancy,
and restless state of all sublunary enjoyments; the unprofitableness of men's
labours, who, while they labour for riches and honour, and natural knowledge,
labour for the wind, and fill their belly with east wind, which cannot satisfy,
Ecclesiastes 5:16;
as well as the frailty of human life, which is like the wind that passes away
and comes not again; and in this respect, like the rest of the instances,
exceed man, which returns to its place, but man does not, Job 7:7.
Ecclesiastes 1:7 7 All the rivers run into
the sea, Yet
the sea is not full; To
the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.
YLT 7All the streams are going
unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are
going, thither they are turning back to go.
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full,.... Which
flow from fountains or an formed by hasty rains; these make their way to the
sea, yet the sea is not filled therewith, and made to abound and overflow the
earth, as it might be expected it would. So Seneca saysF26Nat.
Quaest. l. 3. c. 4. we wonder that the accession of rivers is not perceived in
the sea; and LucretiusF1De Rerum Natura, l. 6. observes the same,
that it is wondered at that the sea should not increase, when there is such a
flow of waters to it from all quarters; besides the wandering showers and
flying storms that fall into it, and yet scarce increased a drop; which he
accounts for by the exhalations of the sun, by sweeping and drying winds, and
by what the clouds take up. HomerF2Iliad. 21. v. 193, &c. makes
every sea, all the rivers, fountains, and wells, flow, from the main ocean.
Hence PindarF3Olymp. Ode 5. v. 4. calls the lake or fountain
Camarina the daughter of the ocean But VirgilF4"Omnia sub
magna", &c. Georgic. l. 4. v. 366, &c. makes the rivers to flow
into it, as the wise man here; with which AristotleF5Meterolog. l. 1.
c. 13. agrees. So LactantiusF6De Orig. Error. l. 2. c. 6. says,
"mare quod ex fluminibus constat", the sea consists of rivers. Both
may be true, for, through secret passages under ground, the waters of it are
caused to pass back again to their respective places from whence they flowed,
as follows;
unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
again; this also illustrates the succession of men, age after age, and
the revolution of things in the world, their unquiet and unsettled state; and
the unsatisfying nature of all things; as the sea is never full with what comes
into it, so the mind of man is never satisfied with all the riches and honour
he gains, or the knowledge of natural things he acquires; and it suggests that
even water, as fluctuating a body as it is, yet has the advantage of men; that
though it is always flowing and reflowing, yet it returns to its original
place, which man does not. And from all these instances it appears that all
things are vanity, and man has no profit of all his labour under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 8 All things are full
of labor; Man
cannot express it. The
eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.
YLT 8All these things are
wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor
filled is the ear from hearing.
All things are full of labour,.... Or
"are laborious"F7יגעים
"laboriosae", Pagninus, Vatablus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Schmidt. ;
gotten by labour, and attended with fatigue and weariness; riches are got by
labour, and those who load themselves with thick clay, as gold and silver be,
weary themselves with it; honour and glory, crowns and kingdoms, are weighty
cares, and very fatiguing to those that have them; much study to acquire
knowledge is a weariness to the flesh; and as men even weary themselves to
commit iniquity, it is no wonder that religious exercises should be a weariness
to a natural man, and a carnal professor;
man cannot utter it; or declare all the
things that are laborious and fatiguing, nor all the labour they are full of;
time would fail, and words be wanting to express the whole; all the vanity, unprofitableness,
and unsatisfying nature of all things below the sun; particularly
the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with
hearing; both one and the other require new objects continually; the
pleasure of these senses is blunted by the same objects constantly presented;
men are always seeking new ones, and when they have got them they want others;
whatever curious thing is to be seen the eye craves it; and, after it has dwelt
on it a while, it grows tired of it, and wants something else to divert it; and
so the ear is delighted with musical sounds, but in time loses the taste of
them, and seeks for others; and in discourse and conversation never easy,
unless, like the Athenians, it hears some new things, and which quickly grow
stale, and then wants fresh ones still: and indeed the spiritual eye and ear
will never be satisfied in this life, until the soul comes into the perfect
state of blessedness, and beholds the face of God, and sees him as he is; and
sees and hears what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard below. The Targum is,
"all
the words that shall be in the world, the ancient prophets were weary in them,
and they could not find out the ends of them; yea, a man has no power to say
what shall be after him; and the eye cannot see all that shall be in the world,
and the ear cannot be filled with hearing all the words of all the inhabitants
of the world.'
Ecclesiastes 1:9 9 That which has been is
what will be, That
which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
YLT 9What [is] that which hath
been? it [is] that which is, and what [is] that which hath been done? it [is]
that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be,.... The thing
that has been seen and heard is no other than what shall be seen and heard
again; so that what is now seen and heard is only what has been seen and heard
before; it is but the same thing over again; and that is the reason why the eye
and ear are never satisfied; the same objects, as the visible heavens and
earth, and all therein, which have been from the beginning, these are they
which shall be, and there is nothing else to be seen and heard, and enjoyed;
and that which is done, is that which shall be done; what is done
in the present age, nay, in this year, month, or day, shall be done over again
in the next;
and there is no new thing under the sun; which is to
be understood of things natural, as the works of creation, which were finished
from the beginning of the world, and continue as they were ever since, Hebrews 4:3; the
various seasons of day and night, of summer and winter, of spring and autumn,
of heat and cold, of seed time and harvest, come in course, as they always did;
these ordinances never fail, Genesis 8:22. The
things before mentioned, the constant succession of men on earth, who are born
into the world and die out of it, just as they always did; the sun rises and
sets at its appointed time, as it did almost six thousand years ago; the winds
whirl about all the points of the compass now as formerly; the rivers have the
same course and recourse, and the sea its ebbing and flowing, they ever had;
the same arts and sciences, trades and manufactures, obtained formerly as now,
though in some circumstances there may be an improvement, and in others they
grow worse; see Genesis 4:2, Exodus 31:3; and
even such things as are thought of new invention, it may be only owing to the
ignorance of former times, history failing to give us an account of them; thus
the art of printing, the making of gunpowder, and the use of guns and bombs,
and of the lodestone and mariner's compass, were thought to be of no long
standing; and yet, according to the Chinese histories, that people were in
possession of these things hundreds of years before; the circulation of the
blood, supposed to be first found out by a countryman of ours in the last
century, was known by Solomon, and is thought to be designed by him in Ecclesiastes 12:6;
and the like may be observed of other things. The emperor Mark AntonineF6De
Orig. Error. l. 2. c. 6. has the very phrase ουδεν
καινον, "nothing new": so SenecaF7יגעים "laboriosae", Pagninus, Vatablus, Mercerus,
Gejerus, Schmidt. ,
"nothing
new I see, nothing new I do.'
This
will likewise hold good in moral things; the same vices and virtues are now as
ever, and ever were as they are; men in every age were born in sin, and were
transgressors from the womb; from their infancy corrupt, and in all the stages
of life; there were the same luxury and intemperance, and unnatural lusts, rapine
and violence, in the days of Noah and Lot, as now; in Sodom and Gomorrah, and
in the old world, as in the present age; and there were some few then, as now,
that were men of sobriety, honesty, truth, and righteousness. There is nothing
to be excepted but preternatural things, miraculous events, which may be called
new, unheard of, and wonderful ones; such as the earth's opening and swallowing
men alive at once; the standing still of the sun and moon for a considerable
time; the miracles wrought by the prophets of the Old and the apostles of the
New Testament, and especially by Christ; and particularly the incarnation of
Christ, or his birth of a virgin, that new thing made in the earth; these and
such like things are made by the power of, he divine Being, who dwells above
the sun, and is not bound by the laws of nature. Spiritual things may also be
excepted, which are the effects of divine favour, or the produce of efficacious
grace; and yet these things, though in some sense new, are also old; or there have
been the same things for substance in former ages, and from the beginning, as
now; such as the new covenant of grace; the new and living way to God; new
creatures in Christ; a new name; the New Testament, and the doctrines of it;
new ordinances, and the new commandment of love; and yet these, in some sense,
are all old things, and indeed are the same in substance: there is nothing new
but what is above the sun, and to be enjoyed in the realms of bliss to all
eternity; and there are some things newF8Vid. R. Alshech in loc. ,
new wine in Christ's Father's kingdom, new glories, joys, and pleasures, that
will never end.
Ecclesiastes 1:10 10 Is there anything of which
it may be said, “See,
this is new”? It
has already been in ancient times before us.
YLT 10There is a thing of which
[one] saith: `See this, it [is] new!' already it hath been in the ages that
were before us!
Is there any thing whereof it may be said, see, this is
new?.... This is an appeal to all men for the truth of the above
observation, and carries in it a strong denial that there is anything new under
the sun; and is an address to men to inquire into the truth of it, and
thoroughly examine it, and see if they can produce any material objection to
it; look into the natural world, and the same natural causes will be seen
producing the same effects; or into the moral world, and there are the same
virtues, and their contrary; or into the political world, and the same schemes
are forming and pursuing, and which issue in the same things, peace or war; or
into the learned world, and the same languages, arts, and sciences, are taught
and learned; and the same things said over againF9"Nullum est
jam dictum, quod non dictum sit prius", Terent Prolog. Eunuch. v. 41. : or
into the mechanic world, and the same trades and businesses are carrying on: or
the words may be considered as a concession, and carry in them the form of an
objection, "there is a thingF11יש דבר "est quidpiam", Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus;
"est res", Drusius, Cocceius, Rambachius. whereof it may be
said", or a man may say, "see, this is new"; so the Targum;
there were some things in Solomon's time it is allowed that might be objected,
as there are in ours, to which the answer is,
it hath been already of old time which was before us; what things
are reckoned new are not so; they were known and in use in ages past, long
before we had a being. R. Alshech takes the words to be an assertion, and not
an interrogation, and interprets it of a spiritual temple in time to come,
which yet was created before the world was.
Ecclesiastes 1:11 11 There is
no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any
remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.
YLT 11There is not a remembrance
of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no
remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
There is no
remembrance of former things,.... Which is the reason
why some things that are really old are thought to be new; because either the
memories of men fail them, they do not remember the customs and usages which
were in the former part of their own lives, now grown old; or they are ignorant
of what were in ages past, through want of history, or defect in it; either
they have no history at all, or what they have is false; or if true, as there
is very little that is so, it is very deficient; and, among the many things
that have been, very few are transmitted to posterity, so that the memory of
things is lost; therefore who can say with certainty of anything, this is new,
and was never known in the world before? and the same for the future will be
the case of present things; see Ecclesiastes 2:16;
neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are
to come with those that shall come after; this will be the case of
things present and future, that they will be buried in oblivion, and lie
unknown to posterity that shall come after the things that are done; and if any
person or persons should rise up and do the same things, they may be called
new, though they are in fact old, for want of knowing that they were before.
The Targum is,
"there
is no remembrance of former generations; and even of later ones, that shall be,
there will be no remembrance of them, with the generations of them that shall
be in the days of the King Messiah.'
R.
Alshech interprets it of the resurrection of the dead.
Ecclesiastes 1:12 12 I, the Preacher, was king
over Israel in Jerusalem.
YLT 12I, a preacher, have been
king over Israel in Jerusalem.
I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Solomon having
given a general proof of the vanity of all things here below, and of the
insufficiency of them to make men happy, proceeds to particular instances, and
begins with human wisdom and knowledge, which of all things might be thought to
be most conducive to true happiness; and yet it falls short of it: he instances
in himself for proof of it; and he could not have pitched on anyone more proper
and pertinent to the purpose, who had all the advantages of obtaining wisdom,
was assiduous in his pursuit of it, and made a proficiency in it above all
mankind; wherefore he must be owned to be a proper judge, and whatever is
concluded by him may be taken for granted as certain; and this is the sum of
the following verses to the end of the chapter. Now let it be observed, that he
was a "preacher", not a private person, and must have a good share of
knowledge to qualify him for teaching and instructing others; and, more than
this, he was a king, and did not want money to purchase books, and procure
masters to instruct him in all the branches of literature; and when he entered
upon the more profound study of wisdom, and especially when he said this, it
was not in his infancy or childhood, or before he came to the throne, but
after; even after he had asked, wisdom of God to govern, and it had been given
him; yea, after he had been a long time king, as he now was; though the Jewish
writers, as the Targum, Jarchi, and others, conclude from hence that he was not
now a king, but become a private person, deposed or driven from his throne,
which does not appear: moreover, he was king of Israel, not over a barbarous
people, where darkness and ignorance reigned, but over a "wise and
understanding people", as they are called Deuteronomy 4:6;
and he was king over them in Jerusalem too, the metropolis of the nation; there
he had his royal palace, where were not only the temple, the place of divine
worship, but a college of prophets, and a multitude of priests, and an
abundance of wise and knowing men, whom he had opportunity of conversing with
frequently; to which may be added, his large correspondence abroad; persons
from all kings and kingdoms came to hear his wisdom, as the queen of Sheba; and
by putting questions to him, and so exercising his talents, not a little
contributed to the improvement of them. Now a person so qualified must be a
judge of wisdom, and what he says deserves attention; and it may be observed,
that what he says, as follows, is "in verbo regis et sacerdotis", on
the word of a king and preacher, who would never risk his honour, or forfeit
his character, by saying an untruth.
Ecclesiastes 1:13 13 And I set my heart to seek
and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this
burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be
exercised.
YLT 13And I have given my heart
to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under
the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be
humbled by it.
And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom,.... As he had
all advantages and opportunities, so he did not want for industry and
application to obtain knowledge; he gave his mind to it; he took up a
resolution not to be discouraged by any difficulties, but to break through
them, if possible; he set about the work with great readiness and cheerfulness;
he had a price in his hand to get wisdom, and he had a heart unto it; see Proverbs 17:16; and
he pursued it with all diligence, with all his might and main: nor did he
content himself with a superficial knowledge of things; but
"searched" after the most recondite and abstruse learning, and
penetrated into the utmost recesses of it, to find out all that was to be
known; and this he did "by" using all the "wisdom" and
sagacity, the light and strength of reason, and all those bright natural parts,
which God had given him in a very extraordinary manner. And his inquiry was
very extensive; it was
concerning all things that are done under heaven; into the
nature of all things, animate and inanimate; trees, herbs, plants, fossils,
minerals, and metals; beasts, birds, fish, and all creeping things; see 1 Kings 4:33; with
everything else in nature: he sought to make himself master of all arts and
sciences; to get knowledge of all trades and manufactures; to understand
everything in politics, relating to kingdoms and states, and the government of
them; to observe all the actions of men, wise and foolish, that he might know
the difference, and be a judge of what was right and wrong. And his observation
upon the whole is,
this sore travail hath God given to the sons of men, to be
exercised therewith: he found by experience it was a heavy task, which God had put
upon the children of men, to get wisdom and knowledge in the way it was to be
gotten; which was very burdensome and wearisome to the flesh; nay, he found it
was anF12ענין רע
"occupationem malam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius,
Amama, Gejerus. "evil business", as it may be rendered; or there was
something sinful and criminal, which God suffered men in their pursuit after
knowledge to fall into, and which their studies exposed them to; as to indulge
a vain and sinful curiosity, to pry into things unlawful, and to be wise above
what is written; or to be too anxious in attaining natural knowledge, to the
neglect of things of great importance; or to abuse or trust in knowledge
attained unto, or be vainly elated and puffed up with it. Or this may be
understood of the evil of punishment, which God inflicts on men for the sin of
eating of the tree of knowledge; and that as he is doomed to get his bread, so
his knowledge, with the sweat of his brow, that is, with great pains and
labour; which otherwise would have been more easily obtained: but this God has
done to "afflict" or "humble"F13לענות "ad affligendum", Montanus, Gejerus;
"ut affligent se in ea", Vatablus, Rambachius; "ut ea humlies
redderet", Tigurine version. men, as the word may be rendered; to afflict
or punish them for sin; and to humble them by showing them how weak are the powers
and faculties of their minds, that so much pains must be taken to get a small
share of knowledge. The Targum is,
"and
I saw all the works of the children of men obnoxious to an evil business; the
Lord gave to the children of men, to be afflicted with it.'
Ecclesiastes 1:14 14 I have seen all the works
that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for
the wind.
YLT 14I have seen all the works
that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation
of spirit!
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun,.... All
things done by the Lord, that were on the earth, and in it, and in the sea; he
considered them, and endeavoured to search into the nature of them; and did
attain to a very great knowledge of them, so that he could speak of them to the
instruction of others; see 1 Kings 4:33; and
all that were done by men, by their head, or by their hands; all that were
written or wrought by them; all their philosophical works and experiments, and
all their mechanic operations; as well as all their good and bad works, in a
moral sense; so the Targum,
"I
saw all the deeds of the children of men, which are done under the sun in this
world;'
and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit; not only the
things known, but the knowledge of them; it is mere vanity, there is nothing
solid and substantial in it, or that can make a man happy; yea, on the
contrary, it is vexatious and distressing; it is not only a weariness to the
flesh to obtain it, but, in the reflection of it, gives pain and uneasiness to
the mind: it is a "breaking of the spirit"F14רעות רוח "affiictio
spiritus", V. L. Junius & Tremellius; "contritio spiritus",
so some in Vatablus. of the man, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Alshech, interpret
the phrase; it wastes and consumes his spirit, as well as his time, and all to
no purpose; it is, as some ancient Greek versions and others render it, and not
amiss, a "feeding on wind"F15
νομη ανεμου, Aquila; "pastio venti", Mercerus, Piscator, Gejerus,
Amama. ; what is useless and unprofitable, and like labouring for that; see Hosea 12:1, Ecclesiastes 5:16;
and so Aben Ezra.
Ecclesiastes 1:15 15 What is
crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
YLT 15A crooked thing [one] is
not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
That which is crooked cannot
be made straight,.... By all the art and cunning, wisdom and knowledge of man,
that he can attain unto; whatever he, in the vanity of his mind, may find fault
with in the works of God, either of nature of providence, and which he may call
crooked, it is not in his power to make them straight, or to mend them; see Ecclesiastes 7:13.
There is something which, through sin, is crooked, in the hearts, in the
nature, in the principles, ways and works, of men; which can never be made
straight, corrected or amended, by all the natural wisdom and knowledge of men,
which shows the insufficiency of it: the wisest philosophers among men, with
all their parade of wit and learning, could never effect anything of this kind;
this only is done by the Spirit and grace of God; see Isaiah 42:16;
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered; the
deficiencies in human science are so many, that they cannot be reckoned up; and
the defects in human nature can never be supplied or made up by natural
knowledge and wisdom; and which are so numerous, as that they cannot be
understood and counted. The Targum is,
"a
man whose ways are perverse in this world, and dies in them, and does not
return by repentance, he has no power of correcting himself after his death;
and a man that fails from the law and the precepts in his life, after his death
hath no power to be numbered with the righteous in paradise:'
to
the same sense Jarchi's note and the Midrash.
Ecclesiastes 1:16 16 I communed with my heart,
saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all
who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and
knowledge.”
YLT 16I -- I spake with my heart,
saying, `I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been
before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.
I communed with my own heart,.... That is, looked into
it, examined it, and considered what a stock and fund of knowledge he had in
it, after all his researches into it; what happiness accrued to him by it, and
what judgment upon the whole was to be formed upon it; and he spoke within
himself after this manner:
saying, lo, I am come to great estate; or become a
great man; famous for wisdom, arrived to a very great pitch of it; greatly
increased in it, through a diligent application to it;
and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been
before me in Jerusalem; or, "that before me were over Jerusalem"F16על ירושלם "super
Jerusalaim", Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt; "qui praefueriut ante me
Jeruscthalamis", Junius & Tremellius. ; governors of it, or in it; not
only than the Jebusites, but than Saul, the first king of Israel, or than even
his father David; or, as GussetiusF17Comment. Heb. p. 604. , than
any princes, rulers, and civil magistrates in Jerusalem, in his own days or in
the days of his father; and also than all the priests and prophets, as well as
princes, that ever had been there: and indeed he was wiser than all men, 1 Kings 4:30; and
even than any that had been in Jerusalem, or any where else, or that should be
hereafter, excepting the Messiah; see 1 Kings 3:12. And
seeing this is said of him by others, and even by the Lord himself, it might
not only be said with truth by himself, but without ostentation; seeing it was
necessary it should be said to answer his purpose, which was to show the vanity
of human wisdom in its highest pitch; and it was nowhere to be found higher
than in himself;
yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge; or, "saw
much wisdom and knowledge"F18ראה הרבה חכמה ודעת
"vidit multum sapientiae et scientiae", Montanus, Amama; "vidit
plurimam sapientiam et scientiam", Tigurine version. ; he thoroughly
understood it, he was a complete master of it; it was not a superficial knowledge
he had attained unto, or a few lessons of it he had committed to memory; some
slight notions in his head, or scraps of things he had collected together, in
an undigested manner; but he had made himself thoroughly acquainted with
everything worthy to be known, and had digested it in his mind.
Ecclesiastes 1:17 17 And I set my heart to know
wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping
for the wind.
YLT 17And I give my heart to know
wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is]
vexation of spirit;
And I gave my heart to know wisdom,.... Which is repeated,
for the confirmation of it, from Ecclesiastes 1:13,
and that it might be taken notice of how assiduous and diligent he had been in
acquiring it; a circumstance not to be overlooked;
and to know madness and folly: that he might the better
know wisdom, and learn the difference between the one and the other, since
opposites illustrate each other; and that he might shun madness and folly, and
the ways thereof, and expose the actions of mad and foolish men: so PlatoF19In
Timaeo, p. 1084. says, ignorance is a disease, of which there are two kinds,
madness and folly. The Targum, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions,
interpret the last word, translated "folly", by understanding,
knowledge, and prudence; which seems to be right, since Solomon speaks of
nothing afterwards, as vexation and grief to him, but wisdom and knowledge: and
I would therefore read the clause in connection with the preceding, thus,
"and the knowledge of things boasted of", vain glorious knowledge;
"and prudence", or what may be called craftiness and cunning; or what
the apostle calls "science falsely so called", 1 Timothy 6:20; see
Proverbs 12:8;
I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit; See Gill on Ecclesiastes 1:14;
the reason follows.
Ecclesiastes 1:18 18 For in much wisdom is
much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
YLT 18for, in abundance of wisdom
[is] abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'
For in much wisdom is much grief,.... In
getting it, and losing it when it is gotten: or "indignation"F20רב כעס "multa ira",
Pagninus, Montanus; "indignatio", V. L. Tigurine version, Vatablus,
Drusius; "multum indignationis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ,
at himself and others; being more sensible of the follies and weakness of human
nature;
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow: for, the more
he knows, the more he would know, and is more eager after it, and puts himself
to more pains and trouble to acquire it; and hereby becomes more and more
sensible of his own ignorance; and of the difficulty of attaining the knowledge
he would come at; and of the insufficiency of it to make him easy and happy:
and besides, the more knowledge he has, the more envy it draws upon him from
others, who set themselves to oppose him, and detract from his character; in
short, this is the sum of all human knowledge and wisdom, attained to in the
highest degree; instead of making men comfortable and happy, it is found to be
mere vanity, to cause vexation and disquietude of mind, and to promote grief
and sorrow. There is indeed wisdom and knowledge opposite to this, and
infinitely more excellent, and which, the more it is increased, the more joy
and comfort it brings; and this is wisdom in the hidden part; a spiritual and
experimental knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, and of divine and
evangelical truths; but short of this knowledge there is no true peace,
comfort, and happiness. The Targum is,
"for
a man who multiplies wisdom, when he sins and does not turn by repentance, he
multiplies indignation from the Lord; and he who increases knowledge, and dies
in his youth, increases grief of heart to those who are near akin to him.'
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)