Ecclesiastes 1 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Circa 10th century BC (c. 970-931 BC), during the reign of King Solomon
Location
Jerusalem, in the united Kingdom of Israel
Audience
The people of ancient Israel, particularly those seeking wisdom and understanding of life
Situation
The Preacher (Qoheleth), identified as the son of David and king in Jerusalem, opens with a profound reflection on the vanity and futility of all human endeavors, illustrated by the unchanging cycles of nature.
Key Background
Ecclesiastes belongs to the Old Testament Wisdom literature, traditionally attributed to King Solomon, renowned for his unparalleled wisdom (1 Kings 3-4). The chapter sets the philosophical tone for the book by emphasizing life's repetitiveness and meaninglessness 'under the sun' without reference to God. Modern scholarship often dates the final composition to the Persian or Hellenistic period (5th-3rd century BC) due to linguistic features, though it draws on Solomonic traditions.
The words of of king in Jerusalem.
of says Qohelet, of — everything is
What does anyone actually from all their hard work — all their the
A goes, a comes, but the earth just keeps standing, the same.
The sun rises, the sun sets, then back to the place where it rises again.
The blows south, then circles north — round and round it goes, always circling back on its path.
All rivers flow into the but the never fills up. Back to the place where the rivers began, there they flow again.
All things are beyond words. The eye never gets its fill of seeing, the ear never has enough of hearing.
What has been is what will be. What has been done is what will be done. There is under the sun.
Is there anything someone might point to and say, "Look — this is new"? No. It already existed in the that came long before us.
No one the people who came before, and those who come after won't be remembered either — not by those who follow them.
I, Qohelet, was in Jerusalem.
I set my mind to and through everything that happens under the sky. It is a has given human beings to keep them occupied.
I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and look — it is all like
What is cannot be straightened. What is cannot be counted.
I said to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in far beyond anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. My mind has taken in vast and
So I set my mind to understand wisdom, and also and I learned that this too is like chasing after wind.
Because the more wisdom you gain, the more you get. And the more you know, the more it