Ecclesiastes 1:2
All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
Bible in Basic English
In The King James Version
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
In Context
1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
3What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?
Cross References
Psalms 39:5\39:4\Lord, give me knowledge of my end, and of the measure of my days, so that I may see how feeble I am.
Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath: his life is like a shade which is quickly gone.
Ecclesiastes 2:11Then 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.
Ecclesiastes 2:17So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:21Because 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.
Ecclesiastes 2:26To 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.
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 1:2-4
Ecclesiastes We are still among Solomon's happy men, his happy servants, that stood continually before him to hear his wisdom; and they are the choicest of all the dictates of his wisdom, such as were more immediately given by divine inspiration, that are here transmitted to us, not to be heard, as by them, but once, and then liable to be mistaken or forgotten, and by repetition to lose their beauty, but to be read, reviewed, revolved, and had in everlasting remembrance. The account we have of Solomon's apostasy… Read the whole commentary →