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Time after Pentecost · Proper 13 · Year C

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26

Vanity of Toil

August 6, 2028

Vanitas Still-Life, Harmen Steenwijck
Vanitas Still-Life, Harmen Steenwijck, c. 1640National Gallery, London
A skull, a shell, a Japanese sword, a lute and a guttering lamp: the trophies of knowledge, travel, wealth and art, with the light falling across all of them.Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, all is vanity. The whole genre of painting exists because of this book.Harmen SteenwijckA Leiden painter and nephew of David Bailly, who specialised almost entirely in vanitas still life.National Gallery, LondonFounded in 1824 by buying one banker's collection, and deliberately placed in Trafalgar Square so that people from every part of London could walk to it.National Gallery, London
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelLuke 12:13-21Lk 12:13-21
EpistleCol. 3:1-11Col 3:1-11
Old TestamentEccl. 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26Eccl 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26
PsalterPs. 100Ps 100

Overview & Insights

"Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

The Teacher surveys everything done under the sun and pronounces it all fleeting, since the fruit of hard labor passes to someone who did not earn it. Even wisdom cannot exempt a person from this common fate.

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Take it further: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26

Commentary

Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary: Vanity of VanitiesEccl 1 Commentary: Vanity of Vanities Enduring Word · David Guzik

Covers the Preacher's opening verdict that all is vapor.

Ecclesiastes 2 Commentary: Vanity of Pleasure, Wisdom, and LaborEccl 2 Commentary: Vanity of Pleasure, Wis, and Labor Enduring Word · David Guzik

Covers the Preacher's despair over leaving his labor to an unknown heir.

Ecclesiastes 1 CommentaryEccl 1 Commentary Precept Austin

Word study on the Preacher's claim that all his work is vapor.

Ecclesiastes 2 CommentaryEccl 2 Commentary Precept Austin

Word study on the Preacher's turn to enjoying food, drink, and toil as God's gift.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-14 CommentariesEccl 1:2-14 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentary on the vanity of vanities verdict.

Ecclesiastes 1 - Gill's ExpositionEccl 1 - Gill's Exposition StudyLight

Older exegetical detail on the Preacher's opening argument.

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23Commentary on Eccl 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 Working Preacher

Reads the Preacher's vanity verdict alongside the parable of the rich fool it pairs with.

Ecclesiastes 2:18 interlinearEccl 2:18 interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew text behind the Preacher's despair over his heir.

Background & Word Study

Ecclesiastes in Hebrew and EnglishEccl in Hebrew and English Sefaria

Original Hebrew text alongside translation for the vanity verdict.

Ecclesiastes overview videoEccl overview video BibleProject

Places this reading's despair and its turn to enjoyment within the whole book's argument.

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