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OET-LV Futility of_futilities he_said Teacher futility of_futilities the_all [is]_futility.
UHB הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃ ‡
(hₐⱱēl hₐⱱālīm ʼāmar qohelet hₐⱱēl hₐⱱāliym haⱪol hāⱱel.)
Key: yellow:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT “Vapor of vapors!” says Qoheleth. “Vapor of vapors! Everything is vapor!”
UST The Teacher says, “Nothing is permanent.
⇔ It is all like the morning mist or the wind;
⇔ It goes and comes, but for what reason?
BSB ⇔ “Futility [fn] of futilities,”
⇔ says the Teacher,
⇔ “futility of futilities!
⇔ Everything is futile!”
1:2 Literally vapor or breath; the Hebrew words translated in Ecclesiastes as forms of futile or fleeting can also be translated as vanity or meaningless.
OEB Utterest vanity! The Speaker declareth:
⇔ Utterest vanity! All is vanity.
CSB “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
NLT “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
NIV “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
CEV Nothing makes sense! Everything is nonsense. I have seen it all--nothing makes sense!
ESV Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
NASB “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
LSB “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
WEB “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
WMB “Vanity of vanities,” says Kohelet[fn]; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
1:2 the Preacher (or, Assembler)
MSG (2-11)Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
What’s there to show for a lifetime of work,
a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives,
but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth.
The sun comes up and the sun goes down,
then does it again, and again—the same old round.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows,
blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind.
All the rivers flow into the sea,
but the sea never fills up.
The rivers keep flowing to the same old place,
and then start all over and do it again.
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered.
NET “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,
⇔ “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
LSV Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
FBV “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.[fn]
1:2 The word used here five times! (and frequently repeated in the book) does not really mean “meaningless” as is so often translated. Its basic meaning is “vapor” or “breath,” and is associated with all that is transitory and fleeting. “Transient” or “ephemeral” would also reflect the meaning—it's not that there is no value, but that everything passes so quickly. Nothing lasts! It is the brevity of life that “makes no sense” and causes frustrating uncertainty. The shortness and unsubstantial nature of existence is what the Teacher finds hard to understand. It's “elusive.”
T4T I say that everything is mysterious;
⇔ everything is hard for me to understand;
⇔ it is difficult to understand why everything happens.
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
NRSV Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
NKJV “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
NAB Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
BBE All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
MOF No MOF ECC book available
JPS Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
ASV Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
DRA Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.
YLT Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
DBY Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.
RV Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
WBS Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
KJB Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
(Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. )
BB All is but most vayne vanitie saith the preacher, & all is most vayne I say and but playne vanitie.
(All is but most vayne vanity saith the preacher, and all is most vayne I say and but plain vanitie.)
GNV Vanitie of vanities, sayth the Preacher: vanitie of vanities, all is vanitie.
(Vanitie of vanities, saith/says the Preacher: vanity of vanities, all is vanitie. )
CB All is but vanite (saieth ye preacher) all is but playne vanite.
(All is but vanite (saieth ye/you_all preacher) all is but plain vanite.)
WYC The vanyte of vanytees, seide Ecclesiastes; the vanyte of vanytees, and alle thingis ben vanite.
(The vanity of vanytees, said Ecclesiastes; the vanity of vanytees, and all things been vanite.)
LUT Es ist alles ganz eitel, sprach der Prediger, es ist alles ganz eitel.
(It is alles ganz eitel, spoke the Prediger, it is alles ganz eitel.)
CLV [Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.[fn]
([Vanitas vanitatum, he_said Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, and everything vanitas.)
1.2 Vanitas vanitatum. ID. Pro vanitas vanitatum secundum quosdam interpretes possumus dicere, etc., usque ad donec veniat quod perfectum est. Antequam suam ponat sententiam, quemdam apparatum videtur et ornamentum facere, cum dicit: Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas. Postea a majori, id est ab homine incipit, ostendens ipsum vanitati subjectum, id est mutabilitati. Et hoc est, vanitas, etc. Vanitas omnis homo vivens: quanto magis cætera! Unde, Vanitati subjecta est creatura, non volens, sed propter eum qui, etc. Quidquid enim non esse potest, vanitas dici potest, quia mutari potest. Solus Deus semper idem est quod est. Quod autem mutatur, quodammodo evanescit, et non est quod erat; ad comparationem Creatoris, omnis creatura vanitas potest dici et quasi nihilum computari. HIER. Si cuncta quæ fecit Deus, etc., usque ad cogor non semel, sed bis dicere, Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.
1.2 Vanitas vanitatum. ID. Pro vanitas vanitatum after/second quosdam interpretes possumus dicere, etc., usque to until let_him_come that perfectum est. Antequam his_own ponat sententiam, quemdam apparatum videtur and ornamentum facere, when/with he_says: Vanitas vanitatum, and everything vanitas. Postea a mayori, id it_is away homine incipit, ostendens ipsum vanitati subyectum, id it_is mutabilitati. And hoc it_is, vanitas, etc. Vanitas everyone human vivens: quanto magis cætera! Unde, Vanitati subyecta it_is creatura, not/no volens, but propter him qui, etc. Quidquid because not/no esse potest, vanitas dici potest, because mutari potest. Solus God semper idem it_is that est. That however mutatur, quodammodo evanescit, and not/no it_is that was; to comparationem Creatoris, everyone creatura vanitas potest dici and as_if nihilum computari. HIER. When/But_if cuncta which fecit God, etc., usque to cogor not/no semel, but twice dicere, Vanitas vanitatum, and everything vanitas.
BRN Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
BrLXX Ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, εἶπεν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς, ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης.
(Mataiotaʸs mataiotaʸtōn, eipen ho Ekklaʸsiastaʸs, mataiotaʸs mataiotaʸtōn, ta panta mataiotaʸs. )
1:2 Everything is meaningless . . . completely meaningless (literally vapor of vapors, everything is vapor): Wherever “meaningless” occurs in this book, the Hebrew word hebel (“breath, vapor”) is behind it. The Teacher’s conclusion is that everything is a transitory and meaningless vapor.
All Is “Vapor”
A key word in Ecclesiastes is the Hebrew term hebel (“vapor,” often translated “meaningless”). This word expresses the core of the Teacher’s judgment concerning life in this world.
At its root, hebel means physical “breath” or “vapor.” Hebel is used seventy-eight times in the Old Testament, but in only three instances is the physical meaning clearly intended (Ps 62:9; Prov 21:6; Isa 57:13). In the other seventy-five instances, the word is used metaphorically to describe what is incomprehensible, futile, meaningless, false, transitory, or insubstantial. The term is often used to describe the insubstantiality, unreality, and worthlessness of false gods (Deut 32:21; 2 Kgs 17:15). In this sense, hebel is the opposite of “glory”—the substantial, weighty, and lasting presence of God. Sometimes the word hebel stands for the way life is fleeting and momentary, like vapor (Job 7:16; Ps 144:4). In other cases, it refers to the meaninglessness and frustration of life (Pss 78:33; 94:11; Isa 49:4).
There is a long tradition of understanding hebel in Ecclesiastes as meaning “vanity,” not in the sense of thinking too highly of oneself, but in the sense of experiencing life as futile and without purpose or meaning. The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament used the word mataiotēs, which means “emptiness” or “futility.” The Latin Vulgate then translated hebel with the Latin word vanitas, which means “purposelessness, pointlessness, hollowness, worthlessness.” From the Vulgate comes the long-standing tradition of translating the word as “vanity” in English. Most translators today understand the word hebel in this sense: Life on earth has no apparent purpose or meaning, and all that we do is futile.
Some translators, however, understand hebel in Ecclesiastes to be referring primarily to the transitory impermanence of life. Vapor has no permanence or weight. This translation leads to a different understanding of Ecclesiastes: Life is not so much meaningless and futile as it is impermanent and fleeting. Many phrases in Ecclesiastes allude to the fleeting nature of human life and its efforts. In the New Testament, a similar thought can be found in James 4:13-15. The understanding of hebel as “impermanence” in Ecclesiastes has merit in explaining the book coherently; it is, however, a minority view among scholars.
The NLT translates hebel in Ecclesiastes as “meaningless.” However, while reading Ecclesiastes, it is helpful to keep in mind the root of the word (“breath” or “vapor”) that stands behind the metaphors.
The brevity, frustration, and apparent meaninglessness of life can be depressing. This discouragement should motivate us toward working more wisely and diligently and enjoying life while we can. We have all observed the apparent absurdity of life’s tragedies, such as the success of a wicked fool or unchecked injustice. But these things come into proportion when we remember God’s sovereignty, because “God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad” (Eccl 12:14).
Passages for Further Study
Deut 32:21; 2 Kgs 17:15; Job 7:16; Pss 62:9; 78:33; 94:11; 144:4; Prov 21:6; Eccl 1:2; Isa 30:7; 49:4; 57:13
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
(Occurrence 0) Like a vapor of mist, like a breeze in the wind, everything vanishes
(Some words not found in UHB: vanity vanities he/it_had_said teacher vanity vanities the,all Heⱱel/(Abel) )
This speaks of how everything in life vanishes and has no lasting value as if everything were like a disappearing vapor or breeze. Alternate translation: “Like a vapor of mist vanishes and like a breeze in the wind disappears, everything vanishes and has no lasting value”