The words of David’s son, Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem: 2 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! 3 What profit have we from all the toil which we toil at under the sun? 4 One generation departs and another generation comes, but the world forever stays. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; then it presses on to the place where it rises. 6 Shifting south, then north, back and forth shifts the wind, constantly shifting its course. 7 All rivers flow to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they flow, the rivers continue to flow. 8 All things are wearisome, too wearisome for words. The eye is not satisfied by seeing nor has the ear enough of hearing. 9 What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun! 10 Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. 11 There is no remembrance of past generations; nor will future generations be remembered by those who come after them.
The author of Ecclesiastes identifies himself with Solomon, David’s son, to whom God gave, “a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you (1 Kgs. 3:12)”. In so doing, Qoheleth declared himself a sage. Vanity of vanities is an expression of extreme futility and emptiness (v. 2). Qoheleth asks, in what way does man profit from all his labor while on earth? (v. 3). From generation to generation the cycle of nature continues. The sun rises and sets, wind and water never increase or diminish, and the earth endures forever, but man’s activity is circular and leads to futility (vv. 4-8). Human being come and go and are forgotten. If something appears to be new, it is because man has forgotten that it happened before, and the same cycle will happen to future generations (vv. 9-11). Nothing is gained from man’s toiling; man makes no progress; man’s existence is circular, nothing is new; no one is remembered.
Almighty God, you give wisdom, knowledge and understanding generously
to all who ask. Help us to trust in you
with all out heart and grant that your Holy Spirit will draw us ever closer to
you. This we pray through Christ our
Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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