Pentecost Season · Proper 13 · Year C
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Vanity of Toil
August 6, 2028
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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Commentary
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23 Working Preacher
Reads the Teacher's verdict of hevel as a call to receive daily life as gift rather than achievement.
Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik
Verse-by-verse treatment of the opening 'vanity of vanities' thesis.
Ecclesiastes 2:18 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries on the futility of leaving one's labor to an unknown heir.
Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary Precept Austin
Verse-by-verse notes on the book's opening theme of fleeting toil.
Ecclesiastes 2 Commentary Precept Austin
Verse-by-verse notes on the Teacher's disillusionment with his own achievements.
Background & Word Study
Ecclesiastes 1:2 Interlinear BibleHub
Hebrew text and parsing for the opening 'hevel' refrain.
Ecclesiastes 1 Sefaria
Hebrew text of the chapter alongside classic Jewish commentators.
Ecclesiastes 2 Sefaria
Hebrew text of the chapter covering the Teacher's verdict on his labor.
Ecclesiastes Course Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's introduction to Ecclesiastes and the Teacher's voice.
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