2 All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
For every living thing was put under the power of change, not by its desire, but by him who made it so, in hope
All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.
You have made my days no longer than a hand's measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.) Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.
Truly men of low birth are nothing, and men of high position are not what they seem; if they are put in the scales together they are less than a breath. Have no faith in the rewards of evil-doing, or in profits wrongly made: if your wealth is increased, do not put your hopes on it.
So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.
When goods are increased, the number of those who take of them is increased; and what profit has the owner but to see them?
Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.
And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.
Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.
To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.
All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.
Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.
So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Book of Ecclesiastes
Chapter 1
In this chapter we have,
And, if this is vanity and vexation, all other things in this world, being much inferior to it in dignity and worth, must needs be so too. A great scholar cannot be happy unless he be a true saint.
Ecc 1:1-3
Here is,
Ecc 1:4-8
To prove the vanity of all things under the sun, and their insufficiency to make us happy, Solomon here shows,
Ecc 1:9-11
Two things we are apt to take a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction in, and value ourselves upon, with reference to our business and enjoyments in the world, as if they helped to save them from vanity. Solomon shows us our mistake in both.
Ecc 1:12-18
Solomon, having asserted in general that all is vanity, and having given some general proofs of it, now takes the most effectual method to evince the truth of it,