1 ῬΗΜΑΤΑ Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ υἱοῦ Δαυὶδ βασιλέως Ἰσραὴλ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. 2 Ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, εἶπεν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς, ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης. 3 Τίς περίσσεια τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ᾧ μοχθεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον; 4 Γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται, καὶ ἡ γῆ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἕστηκε. 5 Καὶ ἀνατέλλει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ δύνει ὁ ἥλιος καὶ εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ ἕλκει· 6 αὐτὸς ἀνατέλλων ἐκεῖ πορεύεται πρὸς Νότον, καὶ κυκλοῖ πρὸς Βοῤῥᾶν· κυκλοῖ κυκλῶν πορεύεται τὸ πνεῦμα, καὶ ἐπὶ κύκλους αὐτοῦ ἐπιστρέφει τὸ πνεῦμα. 7 Πάντες οἱ χείμαῤῥοι πορεύονται εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ ἡ θάλασσα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμπιμπλαμένη· εἰς τὸν τόπον οὗ οἱ χείμαῤῥοι πορεύονται, ἐκεῖ αὐτοὶ ἐπιστρέφουσι τοῦ πορευθῆναι. 8 Πάντες οἱ λόγοι ἔγκοποι, οὐ δυνήσεται ἀνὴρ τοῦ λαλεῖν· καὶ οὐ πλησθήσεται ὀφθαλμὸς τοῦ ὁρᾷν, καὶ οὐ πληρωθήσεται οὖς ἀπὸ ἀκροάσεως. 9 Τί τὸ γεγονός; αὐτὸ τὸ γενησόμενον· καὶ τί τὸ πεποιημένον; αὐτὸ τὸ ποιηθησόμενον· καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. 10 Ὃς λαλήσει καὶ ἐρεῖ, ἴδε τοῦτο καινόν ἐστιν; ἤδη γέγονεν ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι τοῖς γενομένοις ἀπὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν. 11 Οὐκ ἔστι μνήμη τοῖς πρώτοις, καί γε τοῖς ἐσχάτοις γενομένοις οὐκ ἔσται αὐτῶν μνήμη μετὰ τῶν γενησομένων εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην. 12 Ἐγὼ ἐκκλησιαστὴς ἐγενόμην βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. 13 Καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου τοῦ ἐκζητῆσαι καὶ τοῦ κατασκέψασθαι ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ περὶ πάντων τῶν γινομένων ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, ὅτι περισπασμὸν πονηρὸν ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ περισπᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ. 14 Εἶδον σύμπαντα τὰ ποιήματα τὰ πεποιημένα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον· καὶ ἰδοὺ τὰ πάντα ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος. 15 Διεστραμμένον οὐ δυνήσεται ἐπικοσμηθῆναι, καὶ ὑστέρημα οὐ δυνήσεται ἀριθμηθῆναι. 16 Ἐλάλησα ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, τῷ λέγειν, ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμεγαλύνθην, καὶ προσέθηκα σοφίαν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἳ ἐγένοντο ἔμπροσθέν μου ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ· καὶ ἔδωκα καρδίαν μου τοῦ γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν. 17 Καὶ καρδία μου εἶδε πολλὰ, σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν, παραβολὰς καὶ ἐπιστήμην· ἔγνων ἐγώ ὅτι καί γε τοῦτό ἐστι προαίρεσις πνεύματος· 18 Ὅτι ἐν πλήθει σοφίας πλῆθος γνώσεως, καὶ ὁ προστιθεὶς γνῶσιν, προσθήσει ἄλγημα.
Ecclesiastes · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 1 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
Cross references (18)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ecclesiastes 12:8–10; Ecclesiastes 1:12; Ecclesiastes 7:27; 1 Kings 11:42–43; 2 Peter 2:5
- 2 Psalm 144:4; Romans 8:20; Ecclesiastes 5:10; Psalm 39:5–6; Ecclesiastes 12:8
- 3 Ecclesiastes 3:9; Ecclesiastes 5:16; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Mark 8:36–37; Ecclesiastes 2:11
- 4 Psalm 104:5; Zechariah 1:5; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Matthew 24:35; Psalm 119:90–91
- 5 Psalm 42:1; Habakkuk 3:11; Psalm 19:4–6; Psalm 104:19–23; Joshua 10:13–14
- 6 John 3:8; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Job 37:9; Psalm 107:29; Job 37:17
- 7 Job 38:10–11
- 8 Proverbs 27:20; Matthew 11:28; Ecclesiastes 4:8; Ecclesiastes 5:10–11; Psalm 63:5
- 9 Ecclesiastes 3:15; Ecclesiastes 6:10; Revelation 21:1; Ecclesiastes 2:12; Ecclesiastes 7:10
- 10 Acts 7:51; Matthew 23:30–32; Luke 17:26–30; Matthew 5:12; 2 Timothy 3:8
- 11 Ecclesiastes 2:16; Psalm 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Isaiah 42:9; Isaiah 41:22–26
- 12 Ecclesiastes 1:1; 1 Kings 4:1–19
- 13 Ecclesiastes 3:10; Genesis 3:19; 1 Timothy 4:15; Ecclesiastes 8:16–17; Ecclesiastes 1:17
- 14 Ecclesiastes 2:11; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Ecclesiastes 2:26; Ecclesiastes 6:9; Ecclesiastes 1:17–18
- 15 Ecclesiastes 7:12–13; Matthew 6:27; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Isaiah 40:4; Lamentations 3:37
- 16 Ecclesiastes 2:9; 1 Kings 4:30; 1 Kings 10:7; 1 Kings 3:12–13; Hebrews 5:14
- 17 Ecclesiastes 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Ecclesiastes 7:23–25; Ecclesiastes 2:10–12; Ecclesiastes 1:13–14
- 18 Job 28:28; Ecclesiastes 12:12–13; 1 Corinthians 3:18–20; Ecclesiastes 7:16; James 3:13–17
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"Do I not weep much the more?" For, "He that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow." The more I long for what is not here, do I not so much the more groan for it until it comes?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
But thou canst not; for, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Let us go to the tombs; show me thy father; show me thy wife.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)