As king of Israel, Solomon prayed: “… give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?’ The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.” And the LORD God granted his petition.
“Ecclesiastes is a strange name for our twenty-first-century ears. But while it may mean nothing to us contemporary readers, the name is loaded with special meaning in the context of the Bible. The name Ecclesiastes is derived from the Greek word ekklesia, which means ‘the assembly’ or ‘the church.’ It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Qohelet, which comes from the Hebrew word qahal. An old Jewish commentary (Qohelet Rabbah 1:1) explains that Qohelet was so called because it refers to 1 Kings 8, where qahal means ‘ the assembly’ to whom Solomon was preaching [at the dedication of the Temple] ... Indeed, the word qahal occurs seven times in that setting. (1 Kings 8:1, 2, 14, 22, 55, 65)” (Jacques B Doukhan) The Assembly then, and now near the end of his reign, is the children of Israel.
“There are few Old Testament books as intriguing and as difficult to interpret as Ecclesiastes. The book speaks directly to a contemporary society seeking desperately for meaning in life while involved in the often-reckless pursuit of material and personal success. YET it also contains numerous assertions that appear not only to contradict other biblical texts but also to be at odds with others passages within Ecclesiastes itself. Although such statements prompted some early rabbinic discussion concerning the nature of the book’s inspiration there is no evidence that its canonicity was ever in doubt. WHAT quickly becomes clear when one surveys the diverse understanding offered by ancient and contemporary interpreters of the book is that one’s decision regarding some basic issues largely shapes the interpretation of the book as a whole. For example, how should we translate the oft-repeated Hebrew word hebel (KJV ‘vanity’; NIV ‘meaningless’)? Or what is the point of the refrain-like call to ‘ eat and drinks and find satisfaction in [one’s] work’ (2:24; 3:12-3, 22; 5:18-19; 8:15’ 9:7-9)?” (Richard Schultz—The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary)
“The main thesis of this study is that the book of Ecclesiastes is a derash [--a seeking out of the meaning] of Genesis 1-4, which means that the author of the book of Ecclesiastes makes significant, conscious, and identifiable references to Genesis 1-4, so much so that the thought of the book is guided and predicated on that particular text. A thorough intertextual analysis based on clearly established criteria that take into account common vocabulary and themes between Genesis 1-4 and Ecclesiastes makes it clear that there is significant literary dependence of Ecclesiastes upon the early chapters of Genesis. This leads to the conclusion that the book of Ecclesiastes will be better understood if it is read and interpreted in light of Genesis 1-4. As a result, a different picture than the one offered in most modern commentaries on Ecclesiastes comes to light. The book is no longer the work of a skeptic, faltering in his faith in the face of a meaningless world, and offering mainly responses inspired by Greek philosophy or other ANE wisdom works. Rather, while painting a picture of a wise man's struggles with the truly unjust and unfair world under the sun, the book of Ecclesiastes presents to the faithful an understanding of the source of the problem by making clear connections with the fall narrative, offering them ways to cope with this world and redirecting them to God's guidance in the commandments and the hope in God's final and absolute justice.” (Bernard Maurer)
The LORD God of Israel is a God of grace, of mercy, and of love. After the fall of man, He went looking for the rebels who had fallen calling "Adam, Adam, where are you?" He sought them "not to hurl him from the face of the earth, but to plan him an escape from the misery of his sin." D. L. Moody preaches: "Six thousand years have passed away, and this text has come rolling down the ages. I doubt whether there has been anyone of Adam’s sons who has not heard it at some period or other of his life — sometimes in the midnight hour stealing over him — 'Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going? and what is going to be the end of this?'" [Where Art Thou?]
“The question of where we come from and where we are going is one of the elementary challenges of life. Perhaps it is the question of life. Only when we get the answer to it do we learn who we are. Often we meet a person we cannot quite make out. Then we are likely to inquire about the family he comes from and his social milieu. Medical men inquire into a criminal’s hereditary back-ground; psychologist probe into the traumata of youth, the first impressions of life and even prenatal influences; astrologists determine the configuration of the planets at the time of birth… AND ALWAYS THESE INQUIRIES, the serious ones and the superstitious ones proceed on the same assumption: If I know the origins of a man (or of ‘man’ himself), if I know where he comes from, then I also know what he amounts to, then I know his secret.” (Helmut Thielicke)
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:1-5)
Before the first Words of Creation, there was nothing. Afterwards, the earth was “without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” The Spirit of God was separate yet fluttering over the face of the deep of the waters of the earth. And then, “God wished light to be there, but how could there be light when all was darkness? Again He spoke. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. Whence came the light? The word which was spoken, itself produced the light. ‘The entrance of thy words giveth light.’( Ps 119:130)” (A. T. Jones)
At the end of Creation week, the LORD formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he (man or adam) became a “chey nephesh” – a living soul or being. (Genesis 2:7) We think we are something, but in fact without the breath of God, we are but dust.
Eccl 1:1-4 The words of the Preacher (Qoheleth), the son of David, king in Jerusalem. "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." What profit has a man from all his labor (`amal) in which he toils (`amal) under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.
[The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem] “These words identify Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes. This verse is supplemented by Eccl. 1:12 in the words, ‘over Israel’, a word which includes all of the Chosen People; and this limits the identification to Solomon, because he is the only son of David that ever ruled over the entire Israel in Jerusalem. If anything else had been intended as the meaning here, the words would have read, ‘over Judah in Jerusalem’” (Coffman Commentary)
“A superficial reading of Qoheleth may lead one to believe he is a man with a decidedly negative view of life in its many facets... What exactly is Qoheleth's view of the world and of life? What was the source of his ethics? Is Qoheleth the record of a man's search for meaning gone awry, ending in cynicism? Or, is it the book of a godly wise man who gives orthodox counsel for directing one's path through the labyrinth of life?” (Ardel B Caneday) I suggest the latter is the case.
["Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."] “THE MAJOR CHALLENGE … will be to understand and explain correctly the meaning of … ‘hebel’.The NRSV translates it as ‘vanity’…the TNIV as ‘meaningless,’ the Anchor Bible as ‘vapor,’ and the New JPS Bible as ‘futility’ or seven other words, depending on the context.” (Sidney Greidanus) The modern definition of “vanity” is egoism and pride but, what the Preacher means here is a vapor or transient state. It is best defined as “a light wind, a puff, a breath that passes away instantly.” (J. Parker, DD)
The proper name of righteous Abel is the Hebrew Hebel. Egoism was not a characteristic of his, but rather he lived a righteous life, making a more perfect excellent sacrifice than his brother (Heb 11:4), then passed he from this world in an untimely death. Cain “talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” (Gen 4:8) Cain judged Abel serving as judge, as well as executioner. Cain “was of the wicked one and murdered his brother” (1 John 3:12); yet, his name means “achiever.” The LORD put a hedge about him (Gen 4:15) until the day that He judges the secrets of men by Jesus (Rom 2:16). Cain and Abel are both vapors, but Cain never knew it. (Ps 62:9)
“The repletion of the word [hebel] in verse 2 is emphatic similar to ‘Song of Songs’ and ‘holy of holies’’ that is everything is utterly temporary.” (Richard Schultz) THE MESSAGE OF HEBEL HAD ALREADY BEEN SOUNDED BY SOLOMON. He “was addressing the assembly immediately after he had finished building the temple (1 Kings 7:51). First Kings 8:2 tells us that the event took place on the seventh month, Tishri (September / October), during the feast, that is, the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot (see Ezekiel 45:25; Nehemiah 8:14; John 7:37). Sukkot was the moment when the Israelites were supposed to remember their passage in the wilderness, when they lived in tents; it was therefore a festival associated with the transitory character of life. Significantly, the book of Ecclesiastes is the biblical book that is supposed to be read in the booths in order to accompany the liturgical flow of the Feast of Tabernacles. Biblical tradition has associated the dedication of the temple with Sukkot…” (J B Doukhan)
So, even the temple of Solomon is associated with that which is passing away. “Why are we supposed to dwell in temporary structures for a week out of the year? As with most things the Lord commands, at least one aspect of it all is to remember… dwelling as a nation in the wilderness for 40 years. We remember that our bodies are but jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7) and therefore temporary dwellings for us while we are in this world–and in the World to Come we will have resurrected and perfected bodies!” (hearunderstandobey.com )
[What profit has a man from all his labor (`amal) in which he toils (`amal) under the sun?
One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.] “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend (`abad)and keep (shamar) it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Gen 2:16-17)
God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to “tend and to keep it”. It seems logical that in the garden the amount of work necessary was relatively minimal. Surely it was not toilsome or hard labor. [What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?’] ”As scholars have observed, wisdom literature in the OT is ‘within the framework of a theology of creation.’ (Walter Zimmerli) Thus… Qoheleth structured his inquiry based upon man's divinely appointed occupation within creation (cf. Gen 2:5, 15) rather than ask abstractly, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ His interest is not economical but truly philosophical; it does not concern pecuniary profits but life's purpose and meaning.” (A Caneday)
After the fall, the LORD God explained to Adam: “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': Cursed is the ground for your sake…” (Gen 3:17) “For the ground to be cursed means that it will no longer yield its bounty as the blessing from God had promised… .The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated ‘on your account’ or ‘because of you.’ The idiomatic ‘thanks to you’ in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression.” https://net.bible.org/#!bible/Genesis+3 “in toil (`itstsabown) you shall eat of it all the days of your life.”(Gen 3:17) “Adam would have to toil hard to obtain a living from the ground (vv. 17-18). Adam already had received the privilege of enjoying the garden (2:15), but this did not require strenuous toil.” (Constable Notes) “The land says, ‘If you want anything out of me you must work for it. I answer labor; I respond to industry, I reply to the importunity of toil.’” (J Parker DD)
“From the William Whiston translation of Flavius Josephus's ‘Antiquities of The Jews’ we find ‘... the ground should not henceforth yield its fruits of its own accord, but that when it should be harassed by their labour, it should bring forth some of its fruits, and refuse to bring forth others.’” http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/curse.html
All manufacturing is from raw materials found in the created world. God creates out of nothing, but man creates from natural resources, thus making a living to feed their families. Anything we do is human works.. and they bring forth thorns and thistles. “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:18-19) See Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 for a discussion on thorns and thistles and some possible spiritual implications.
“‘Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain’; ‘Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.’ See the earth inscribed with terms like these… Spiritual cultivation, like the culture of the land, cannot be hastened. You cannot extemporize moral greatness; it is a slow growth…. Spiritual cultivation is sometimes very hard. Circumstances are heavily against us; we are not placed in favorable localities, or under very gracious conditions. Let us be thankful to God if, though faint, we are still pursuing.” (J. Parker, D. D.)
[under the sun] Qoheleth “did not employ it [this phrase] to restrict his perspective to common ground with natural man. He was no mere philosopher who, working from a system of ‘natural theology,’ sought to understand God's creation without the interpretive revelation of the Creator. The phrase ‘under the sun’ is not a restriction upon the manner of Qoheleth's reflections, but it circumscribes the sphere of those things which he observed in contrast to that sphere in which God's reign knows no opposition. The expression, ‘under the sun,’ therefore, speaks of the earth upon which man dwells…” (Ardel B. Caneday)
Jehovah God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake (Gen 3:17)— “For the creation was subjected to futility (vanity);” (Rom 8:20a) The word ‘vanity’ here ματαιότης mataiotēs is descriptive of the present condition of the Christian, as frail and dying; as exposed to trials, temptations, and cares; as in the midst of conflicts...” (Barnes Notes) “… not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope. (Rom 8:20b) We should “seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. “ (Isa 55:6)
[One generation passes away, and another generation comes;] Generations of people have returned to dust since the fall of mankind. In fact: “As soon as one generation comes it goes. This cycle idea of come and go is already contained in the Hebrew word dor, ‘generation,’ whose primary meaning is ‘circle.’” (Jacques B Doukhan) Life under the sun is described as “people enough, and more than enough, — crowds, throngs, whole generations, passing on as shadows pass, until death is greater than life upon the earth.” (J. Parker, D D)
[But the earth abides forever (`owlam);] This earth abides`owlam! According to Strong’s Concordance, it can be defined as “generally, time out of mind (past or future).”
The word "`owlam" is used 57 times in the Old Testament in reference to something that has already come to an end— for example in the case of the length of time that Jonah would remain in the whale’s belly. (Jonah 2:6) Also, Hannah vowed to take her son, Samuel, to "appear before the LORD and remain there forever," (1 Sam 1:22) but later explains that she has lent him to the LORD "as long as he lives."(Vs 28) `OWLAM DOES NOT MEAN “for everlasting time; eternally”. Jesus taught: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Matt 24:35) LIKEWISE, Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:10 speak of a time in the future ‘when the new heavens and new earth will be made. Take a look at 2 Peter 3:10-13). Since sin is in the world, the earth and all its works will be destroyed and cleansed, and a new heavens and new earth will replace them. So perhaps Qoheleth means that one generation passes away and another comes, but this earth will abide through all generations until the Seed of the Woman bruises /crushes the head of the seed of the serpent. (Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20)
Eccl 1:5-8 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. 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. All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
“These repetitions give an impression of both monotony and business. The point of the poems is that everything repeats, always returning to the beginning…. It is ALSO remarkable that all these movements are not happening at random; they reflect the successive steps of the Genesis Creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:4)… Notice the many parallels between Ecclesiastes 1 and Genesis 1 and 2:
1:2, ‘all is vanity’ / state of pre-Creation (Genesis 1:1-2)
1:3, ‘under the sun’ / light and sky (first and second days, Genesis 1:3-8)
1:4, the earth / the earth ‘under the sky’ (third day, Genesis 1:9-13)
1:5-6, sunrise and sunset; wind of the North and of the South / day-night and seasons (fourth day, Genesis 1:14-19)
1:7, rivers and sea in movement / life in water (fifth day, Genesis 1:20-23)
1:8, humans who speak, see, and hear / creation of humans (sixth day, Genesis 1:24-31)
*1:9, humans who do not remember (‘nothing new’) / end of Creation (Sabbath, Genesis 2:1-3)
… ‘All is vanity’ (1:2), the motto set forth in verse 2, is thus confirmed. ‘ All’ (kol) is a key word of the Creation story (Gen 1:30, 31; 2:1, 2, 3, 5); it embraces the whole world of Creation.” (J. B. Doukhan)
“‘For Old Testament orthodoxy, creation rings with the praises of the Lord… BUT ‘take away its God, and creation no longer reflects His glory; it illustrates the weariness of mankind.’(Eaton)” (Guzik)
[All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.] “All things” is “translated by a number of commentators as ‘all words’… (cf. LXX and the use elsewhere in Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew plural form of debharim = ‘words’) Hence Hertzberg renders, ‘All speech is a wearying of oneself, no man can utter it’—a justifiable interpretation… man’s spirit becomes weary at the sight of the endless monotonous rounds of nature, so that the eye and ear enter upon endless courses of seeing and hearing that never satisfy.” (Interpreter’s Bible Commentary) “Surely, God's providential directing of the affairs of this world is carried out with uniform precision and beauty and yet the curse hides the full character of the One who governs the universe” (A B Caneday)— whose Words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:35b)
Eccl 1:8-11 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. Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. 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.
[That which has been is what will be,]“Uniformity and repetition breeds monotony in this cursed world. Regularity has an eroding effect; it wears man down. So it is that Qoheleth declares, ‘All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, or the ear its fill of hearing’ (1:8). Man comes to expect the recurrence of events. Even in man's brief existence upon the earth, he comes to learn that even those few things that may occur only once in his lifetime are not new (1:9). The joy of discovery is dampened by earth's stubborn uniformity.” (A. B. Caneday)
[that which is done is what will be done,] “Many of man’s most boasted achievements have their counterparts in nature. Birds flew long before man did, for instance. Even space travel is not new. Enoch and Elijah were transported through space without having to carry their own oxygen supplies with them! So those who spend their lives searching for new novelties are bound to be disappointed. It has already happened in ancient times… (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
[and there is nothing new under the sun.] “As one excitedly exclaims, ‘Look! This is something new,’ the excitement quickly fades with the realization that, ‘It was here before our time’ (1:10).” (A. B. Caneday)
[Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us.] “Men may say this of their discoveries, etc.; but universal nature says ‘It is not new. It has been, and it will be.’” (Adam Clarke)
[There is no remembrance of former things,] “This seems to be added to prevent the objection: ‘There are many inventions and enjoyments unknown to former ages.’” (John Wesley)
“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.” (Gill's) [nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.] “Even the memory of the proudest achievements … will soon fade (1:11).” (Richard Schultz)
“Lasting fame is a mirage. Many of us would have great difficulty in naming our great grandparents. And fewer, perhaps, could name the last four vice-presidents of the United States. In our self-importance, we think that the world can’t get on without us; yet we die and are quickly forgotten, and life on the planet goes on as usual. ” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
Eccl 1:12-18 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 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. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. 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." And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
[I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 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.] Qoheleth calls human works a burdensome task: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” (Gen 3:17-18)
“A large portion of mankind has lived in an agrarian based society… Consequently, God has used familiar objects associated with working, and living, in a farming community to teach important spiritual lessons. One example of this method of instruction is the use of ‘thorns and thistles’ mentioned in Genesis 3:18. At first glance, it may appear that God is speaking in literal terms about thorns and thistles growing up and causing problems for a farmer. However, when viewed with other scriptures on this subject it will become apparent that God is revealing a much deeper spiritual truth. As any farmer or gardener knows, thorns and thistles can be very frustrating to deal with. They slow down the work that is being done, can be difficult to remove, may cause injury, inhibit growth or possibly destroy useful plants, trees, and flowers. If they’re not completely removed, they will come back to cause more problems... These thorns and thistles were not present until Adam disobeyed the word of God. It appears that they sprang up as a result of his decision to rebel against God’s command. Now Adam would be exposed to them, and have to deal with them as he struggled to live and provide for his family.”
http://www.1truth1law.com/Thorns_and_Thistles.html
“The LORD, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, uses the worthlessness of thorns and thorn-bushes when exhorting sinful people of Judah to repent, e.g. ‘For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. (Jeremiah 4:3, KJV)Further on, the Lord tells Jeremiah that because of their sin He is ceasing to provide for His people, and again uses the image of thorns as judgment: ‘They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.’ (Jer 12:13).” http://evidenceweb.net/pdfs/bible_thorns.pdf
[I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.] “… Qoheleth examines various aspects of life’ under the sun’ (1:12-6:9, intermittently evaluating what has been experienced or observed. In an extended autobiographical section (1:12-2:26), Qoheleth relates his personal experiences. He first examines by means of wisdom (1:13; cf. 7:23) the gain which comes through a life marked by achievements and pleasure and then examines wisdom itself… Verse 13 emphasizes his single-minded effort (literally ‘I gave my heart,’ also 1:17; 7:21; 8:9, 16) to examine human activities in depth and in breadth, despite their unpleasant nature (‘heavy burden’; a better translation is ‘unhappy business ‘). Surprisingly, for reasons explained in chapter 2, all of these activities appear to be futile (Hebrew hebel) as ‘chasing after the wind’ (1:14; also 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6 16; 6:9, cf. 5:16; 8:8). Expressed proverbially (1:15; cf. 7:13), capturing the wind is as impossible as restoring something that has been damaged” (R. Schultz) or lost, without God’s kippur or covering for sin.
[What is crooked cannot be made straight,] Mankind cannot“be brought into position”. The imperfection in the arrangements of the world resulted from the fall. “All attempts to rectify this imperfection without recognition of the fall of man are vain. The dislocated state of all creaturely things, subject as they are to vanity, is designed to bring us, in despair of bettering them, to take refuge in God. [and what is lacking <Dan. 5:27> cannot be numbered.]… so as to take a complete number: so equivalent to ‘cannot be supplied ‘(Maurer). Or rather, man's state is utterly wanting; and that which is wholly defective cannot be numbered or calculated.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
“Nothing that man can do can remedy the anomalies with which he is surrounded: The inadequacy of all systems of government, economics, education, etc., are utterly beyond his power to improve or correct them. In a word, He is stuck with the situation into which he was born.” (Burton Coffman)
[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."] “The repeated and intensified search for wisdom brought no ultimate meaning. The solution wasn’t to think harder and search better; it was all grasping for the wind.” (David Guzik)
[And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.] “Although Qoheleth seeks to understand wisdom better by studying its opposites, ‘madness and folly’ (1:17), wisdom itself is experienced as a mixed blessing. As the concluding proverb asserts (1:18), increased wisdom and knowledge are accompanied by vexation and pain. No amount of wisdom and knowledge will enable one to explain or resolve all of life’s challenges.” (Richard Schultz)
[I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.] “A man may determine or make up his mind to accomplish something eternally significant in a creation subjected to vanity, yet no matter how hard he tries Qoheleth tells him it will be a fruitless endeavor.” (H. Carl Shank)
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)