eng_aiv Amundson Interpretive Version Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes Eccl Ecclesiastes id=eng_aiv name=Amundson Interpretive Version (AIV) status=draft spec=USFM-USX 3.1.1 export=2026-11-02 char:add=translator-addition-italic char:wj=words-of-Jesus-as-received-unmapped note:f=footnotes para:r=parallel-passage-references para:d=psalm-superscriptions Everything Is Futile The words of Qoheleth,1.1 Or the Teacher or the Convener or the Preacher or the leader of the assembly the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vapor1.2 Or Breath or Vanity or Futility; the Hebrew words translated in Ecclesiastes as forms of vapor can also be translated as vanity or meaninglessness or futility . of vapors,” says Qoheleth, “Vapor of vapors— the whole of it is vapor!” What profit is unto the man from all his toil, with which he toils under the sun? A generation is going and a generation is coming, and the earth is standing forever. And the sun has risen, and the sun has gone in, and to its place, panting, it is rising there. Going toward the south, and turning about to the north— turning about, turning about—the wind is going about, and on its round the wind is returning. All the rivers are going to the sea, and the sea it has no filling; to the place from which the rivers come, there they are turning back to go. All the things are wearisome— a man is not able to speak; the eye is not satisfied from seeing, and the ear is not filled from hearing. What has been, it will be; and what has been done, it will be done; and nothing at all is new under the sun. Is there anything of which one may say, “See this? It is new!” Already it has been in the ages that were from before our faces. There is no remembrance of the former things, and of the latter things that will come to be, there will be no remembrance of them with those who come to be after them. With Wisdom Comes Sorrow I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to search and spy out by wisdom, concerning all that is done under the heavens. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, to be occupied with it! I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun, and indeed, all is vapor and striving after the wind. What is crooked is not able to be straightened, and what is lacking is not able to be counted. I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have become great, and I have added wisdom over all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has seen great wisdom and knowledge.” And I set my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; I have known that this also—it is a striving after the wind. For with an abundance of wisdom is much grief, and he who adds to knowledge adds to sorrow. The Futility of Pleasure I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with gladness, and look on the good!” And behold, this also is vapor. Of laughter, I said, “It is madness,” and of joy, “What is this accomplishing?” I searched in my heart to draw out my flesh with wine, and my heart was guiding me in wisdom, and to lay hold on folly, until that I might see where is this good for the sons of man, that they might do under the heavens the number of the days of their lives. I made great my works; I built for myself houses, and I planted for myself vineyards; I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted in them a tree of every fruit. I made for myself pools of water, to cause to drink from them a grove of sprouting trees. I acquired menservants and maidservants, and sons of the house were unto me; also there were unto me great possessions of cattle and sheep, more than all who were before my face in Jerusalem; I gathered for myself also silver and gold, and the property of kings and of the provinces; I appointed for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights of the sons of man—a wife and wives. So I became great, and I added more than all who were before my face in Jerusalem. Also, my wisdom stood with me. And all that my eyes asked, I did not lay aside from them; I did not withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my toil—and this was my portion from all my toil. And I turned to all the works that my hands had done, and to the toil that I had toiled to do, and behold—all was vapor and a striving after the wind, and there was no profit under the sun. The Wise and the Foolish And I turned to look at wisdom and madness and folly. For what is the man who comes after the king—that which already they have done! And I saw that there is profit to wisdom above folly, like the profit of the light over the darkness. The wise one, his eyes are in his head, and the fool is walking in the darkness. And I also knew of that event—the one that happens to all of them. And I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, it will also happen to me. Then what is profit to me in being wise?” And I said in my heart, “This also is vapor.” For there is no memory of the wise with the fool, forever, in that already in the days that are coming all will be forgotten. And how a wise one will die like the fool! And I have hated this life, because the work was evil to me that was done under the sun—for all is vapor and a striving after the wind. The Futility of Work And I hated all my toil that I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? And he will rule over all my toil that I have toiled, and that I have done wisely, under the sun. This also is vapor. And I turned around my heart to despair over all the toil that I have toiled under the sun. For there is a man whose toil is with wisdom and with knowledge and with skill, and to a man not having toiled for it he must give his portion. This also is vapor and a great evil. For what has been for the man for all his toil and for the striving of his heart, with which he toils under the sun? For all his days are pains, and anger is his task; even in the night his heart will not find rest. This also is vapor. Nothing is better for the man than to eat and drink, and his soul to see good in his toil. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God; for who can eat, and who can enjoy, apart from Him?2.25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me or more than I For to the man who is good in His eyes, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; and to the sinner He gives the task to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before the face of God. This also is vapor, and a striving after the wind. To Everything There Is a Season To everything there is a season, and a time for every thing desired under the heavens: A time to give birth and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up the planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to seek and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace. God’s Works Remain Forever What is the profit of the one making in that which he toils? I have seen the task that God has given to the sons of man, to be occupied with it. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also eternity put in their heart, without which a man cannot find out the work that God has done from beginning even to end. I know that there is nothing good for them, but than to rejoice and to do good during their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and see good in all his toil—it is a gift of God. I know that everything that God does, it will be forever; to it nothing can be added, and from it nothing can be diminished; and God has done it that they should fear from before His face. That which has been already, it is; and that which is to be, it has already been—and God requires that which is pursued. From Dust to Dust And again I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, there was wickedness. I said in my heart, “The righteous and the wicked, God will judge, because a time is to every activity, and for every work there.” I said in my heart concerning the manner of the sons of man, “God is testing them, that they might see that they are beasts—they themselves.” For an event is to the sons of man, and an event is to the beasts, one is and an event for them: As the death of this one, so is the death of this one; and one breath3.19 Or one spirit is to all, and the advantage of the man over the beast is nothing—for all is vapor. All are going to one place; all are from the dust, and all return to the dust. Who knows if the spirit of the sons of man, it is ascending upward, and the spirit of the beast, it is desending downward into the earth? And I saw that nothing is better than that the man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion. For who can bring him to see what will come after him? The Evil of Oppression And I turned, and I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and no one is comforting to them—while from the hand of those oppressing them is strength, and no one is comforting to them. I—and I praised those who were dead, who already had died, above the living who are still alive; and better than both is the one who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun! I—and I have seen all the toil and every skillful deed, that it was the envy of each man from his neighbor. This also is vapor and a striving after the wind. The fool is folding his hands and is eating his own flesh. Better the fullness of palm with quietness than the fullness of two palms with toil and a striving after the wind. And I turned, and I saw a vapor under the sun: There is one, and there is not a second—there is not even a son or brother for him—and there is not end to all his toils; and his eye is not satisfied with wealth: “For whom am I toiling and depriving my soul of good?” This also is vapor, and it is a task of evil. Two are better than the one, because there is for them a good wage for their toil; for if they fall, the one raises up his companion—and woe to him, the one who falls, and there is not a second to raise him up! Also, if two lie down, then there is warmth for them; but for one, how can he keep warm? And though one may be overpowered, the two can stand against him; and a threefold cord cannot quickly be broken. The Futility of Power Better a youth poor and wise than a king old and foolish, who does not know to be warned anymore. For from the house of bondage he came to be king, for even in his kingdom he was born poor. I saw all the living who are walking under the sun, with the second youth who stands in his place. There is no end to all the people, to all who were before their faces, yet those coming after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vapor and a striving after the wind. Approaching God with Fear Guard your feet when you walk to the house of God; and drawing near to listen is above giving the sacrifice of fools, for there are none of them knowing they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and do not let your heart hurry to bring out a word before the face of God; for God is in the heavens, and you are upon the earth—upon thus, let your words be few. For as a dream comes with an abundance of business, so the voice of a fool with an abundance of words. When you vow a vow to God, you should not delay to fulfill it, for there is no delight in fools. What you have vowed, you must fulfill. Better that you did not vow, than that you vow and not fulfill it. Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the face of the messenger5.6 Or angel that it was an error. Why should God be angry concerning your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For in an abundance of dreams, vapors and words abound, but you must fear God. The Futility of Wealth (Psalm 49:1–20) If you see the oppression of the poor and the robbing of justice and righteousness in a province, you should not be astonished concerning the matter, for one higher is watching over a high one, and higher ones over them. And the produce of the land, it is for all: A king is served by the field. The one loving silver will not be satisfied with silver, and he who loves increase not with increase. This also is vapor. In the multiplying of good those devouring it are multiplied; and what profit is for its owners, but the beholding with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of the one working, whether he eats little or much; but the satsifaction of the rich one will not allow rest for him to sleep. There is a sickening evil I have seen under the sun: Riches guarded for their owner, to his harm, and that wealth perished in a business of evil, and he begets a son, and there is not anything in his hand. As he came forth from the womb of his mother naked, shall he return, to go as he came, and he shall carry nothing for his toil to go in his hand. And this also is a sickening evil: Exactly as, he came, so shall he go, and what profit is for him who has toiled for the wind? Even all his days he will eat in darkness, and having sorrow abounding, and sickness and anger. Behold what I have seen to be good, that which is beautiful: To eat and to drink and to see good in all his toil that he toils under the sun all the days his life that God has given to him, for it is his portion. Also every man for whom God has given to him riches and wealth, and given him power to eat from it and to receive his portion and to rejoice in his toil—this, it is a gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God occupies him with the joy of his heart. The Futility of Life There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon mankind: A man for whom God has given to him riches and wealth and honor, and he has no lack for his soul from all that; he desires and God does not give him power to eat from it; instead a foreign man eats it. This is vapor, and it is a sickening evil. If a man begets a hundred and lives many years, and many are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from this goodness, and also not is unto him a grave, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For in vapor he comes, and in darkness he goes, and in darkness his name is covered. Even he has not seen the sun and has not known it, more rest is unto this one than this one. And though he might live a thousand years twice over, and has not seen goodness, are not all are going to one place? All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet the soul is not filled.6.7 Or satisfied Indeed, what advantage is for the wise one over the fool? What is to the poor one knowing how to walk before the living? Better is a sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul; this also is vapor and a striving after the wind. That which has come to be, already its name has been called; and it is known that he is man, and he is not able to contend with one stronger than he. For there are many words, multiplying vapor—what advantage is for man? For who knows what is good for man in life all the days of the life of his vapor, and he makes them like a shadow? For who can declare to man what will come to be after him under the sun? The Value of Wisdom A good name is finer than good ointment, and the day of one’s death than the day he was born. Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for this is the end of all men, and the one living will give it to his heart. Better is sorrow than laughter, for by the sadness of the face, the heart is made good. The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in a house of gladness. Better to hear the rebuke of a wise one, than hearing a song of fools. For like the sound of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool; and also this is vapor. Surely oppression drives a wise one to madness, and a bribe destroys the heart. Better the end of a thing than its beginning; better one long of spirit than one high of spirit. Do not hurry in your spirit to become angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. Wisdom is good, with an inheritance, and profitable for those seeing the sun. For in the shadow of wisdom is as in the shadow of silver, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps alive her owners. See the work of God, for who is able to make straight what He has made crooked? In a day of prosperity, be in gladness, and in a day of evil, see also: This as well as this, God has made, for the reason that man cannot find out anything after him. The Limits of Human Wisdom All I have seen in the days of my vapor: There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wicked one living long in his wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, and not overly wise yourself—why should you be desolate? Do not be overly wicked, and do not be a fool—why should you die in what is not your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and also not loosen your hand from this; for the one who fears God will go forth from them all.7.18 Or will avoid all extremes Wisdom gives more strength to the wise one than ten rulers who are in a city. For there is not a righteous man on the earth who does good and does not sin. Also, for all words that they might speak, do not give your heart, that you may not hear your servant belittling you. For many times also your own heart has known that you also have belitted others. All this I have tested by wisdom; I have said, “I shall be wise,” and it was far from me. Far off is that which has been, and very deep—who can find it out? I also turned my heart to know, and to search out, and to seek wisdom and reason, and to know the evil of foolishness and the folly of madness. And I am finding more bitter than death the woman who, she is a snare and her heart is a net; her hands are bonds; The one who is good before the face of God escapes from her, and the one sinning will be captured by her. Behold, this I have found, says Qoheleth, one to one to find out the reason— that which my soul still has sought, and I have not found: One man from a thousand have I found, and a woman among all these I have not found. See, this alone I have found: That God made man upright, and they have sought out many schemes. Obey the King Who is like the wise one, and who knows the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of a man makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I say: The mouth of a king you must keep, even for the sake of the oath of God. Do not hurry to depart from his face; do not stand in an evil matter, for all that he delights in, he will do. Where the word of a king is, power is, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” The one guarding a command will not know an evil thing, and the heart of a wise one knows a time and a judgment. For to every delight there is a time and a judgment, though the misery of man is great upon him. Indeed, he is not knowing what will happen; for when it will be, who can declare it to him? No man is masterful over the wind to restrain the wind, and no one has mastery over the day of his death. And there is no discharge in the battle, and wickedness will not deliver its possessors. All this I have seen, so as to give my heart to every work that is done the under sun; a time that man has ruled over man, for evil unto himself. Fear God (Isaiah 8:11–15) And in this I have seen the wicked ones being buried, and they went in, even from the place of holiness they walked, and they were praised8.10 Some Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts they were forgotten in the city where thus they had done. This also is vapor. Because an edict is not made on the evil work swiftly, upon thus the heart of the sons of man is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and it is prolonged to him still, surely I know that there is good for those fearing God, who fear from before His face. But it shall not be good for the wicked, and he will not prolong the days like a shadow, because he is not fearing before the face of God. God’s Ways Are Mysterious There is a vapor that occurs on the earth: That there are righteous ones for whom it touches them according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked for whom it touches them according to the work of the righteous. I have said this also is vapor. And I have praised the enjoyment, because nothing is good for a man under the sun, except than to eat and to drink and to be joyful, for only this will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life that God has given to him under the sun. When I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to see the task that is done on earth—for even he is not seeing sleep with his eyes in the day and in the night— and I saw all the work of God, that man is not able to find out the work that is done under the sun in that to which man might toil to seek it, and he will not find it; and even though the wise one claims to know it, he is not able to find it. Death Comes to Good and Bad Indeed, all this I gave to my heart, in order to examine all this, that the righteous and the wise and their work are in the hand of God. Even love, even hatred—man does not know all that is before their faces. All is as for all: One event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the bad,9.2 LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; Hebrew does not include and to the bad. and to the clean and to the unclean, and to the one sacrificing and to the one who is not sacrificing; as is the good one, so is the sinner, the one swearing an oath as the one refusing an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: That one event is to all, and also that the heart of the sons of man is full of evil; and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterward to the dead. For whoever that is joined to all the living, there is hope, for a living dog is better than a lion that is dead; for the living know that they will die, and the dead cannot know anything, and there is not anymore for them a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love and their hatred and their jealousy already have perished, and there is not unto them anymore a portion forever in all that is done under the sun. Enjoy Your Portion in This Life Go, eat your bread with gladness, and drink your wine with a good heart, for already God has accepted your works. At every time, let your garments be white, and let oil not be lacking upon your head. See life with a wife whom you have loved, all the days of the life of your vapor, which He has given to you under the sun—all your days of vapor—for that is your portion in this life, and in the toil by which you toil under the sun. All that your hand finds to do, with your strength you must do it, for there is no work or plan or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, there where you are going. I returned and saw under the sun how the race is not to the swift, and the battle not to the strong, and bread not to the wise, and wealth not to the discerning, and favor not to the skillful. For time and chance will happen to them all. For even the man does not know his time; like the fish taken in a cruel net, and like the birds that are grabbed by the snare, so for them: The sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls upon them suddenly. Wisdom Is Better than Strength This also I have seen as wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me: A city was small, and few men in it; and a great king came against it, and he besieged it and built great siege ramps against it. And there was found in it a poor wise man, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. And mankind has not remembered that poor man. And I said, “Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor one is despised, and his words are not heard.” The words of the wise are heeded in quiet over the shout of a ruler among fools. Better wisdom than weapons of war, and one sinner can destroy much good. Wisdom and Folly Dead flies rising up in the ointment of a perfumer give a stench; a little folly is heavier than wisdom and honor. The heart of a wise one is to his right, and the heart of a fool to his left. And even in a fool walking along the way, his heart is lacking, and he shows to everyone that he is a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, you should not leave your station, for calmness puts to rest great sins. There is an evil I have seen under the sun, as an error that goes forth from before the face of the ruler: He has set a fool in many high places, and the rich ones sit in the lowly place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth. The one digging a pit will fall into it; and one breaking through a wall, a snake will bite him. The one pulling out stones will be hurt by them; the one splitting trees endangers himself by them. If the iron has been blunt, and he has not sharpened the edge, then he must exert strength; and wisdom is an advantage to being successful. If the snake bites without a charm, then there is no advantage for the master of the tongue. The words of the mouth of a wise one are favor, and the lips of a fool will swallow him up— the beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, and the end of his mouth is evil madness. And the fool multiplies words. Man does not know what will come to be, and of what will come to be after him, who can declare it to him? The toil of fools wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land, that your king is a youth,10.16 Or a servant and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, that your king is a son of nobles, and your princes feast in due season— for strength and not for drunkenness! By laziness, the rafter is made to sink, and by idleness of hands, the house leaks. Bread is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry— and the silver is the answer to all. Even in your thought you must not belittle the king, and in the chambers of your bed do not belittle the rich, for a bird of the heavens may carry along your voice, and a possessor of wings may declare the word. Cast Your Bread upon the Waters Send out your bread on the face of the waters, for in many days you will find it. Give a portion to seven, and even to eight, for you do not know what evil may come to be on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they will pour out upon the earth; and if a tree falls in the south or in the north, at the place where the tree falls, there it will be. The one watching the wind will not sow, and one looking at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, as the bones11.5 Or As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of the full woman, so you do not know the works of God, who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand, for you do not you know whether this one will prosper— this one or this one, or whether the two of them alike are good. Enjoy Your Years The light also is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. For if the man lives many years, let him be glad in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many— all that is coming is vapor. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart be made glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes, and know that for all these things God will bring you into the judgment. And remove anger from your heart, and make evil pass from your flesh, for youth and black hair are vapor. Remember Your Creator And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, while the days of evil have not come, and the years have drawn near when you say, “No delight for me is in them!” While that the sun is not darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain, in the day the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength bow down, and those gridning cease because they are few, and those looking out through the windows grow dim, and the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of the grinding becomes low, and one rises up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of the song are bent low— they are afraid even from height and terrors in the way; for the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper carries itself along and the caper berry breaks off, because man is going to his eternal home, and those mourning go around in the street— while the cord of silver is not snapped or the bowl of gold broken or the pitcher shattered at the fountain or the wheel crushed at the well, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. “Vapor of vapors,” says the Qoheleth; “All is vapor!” The Whole Duty of Man And further, Qoheleth, being wise, also did he teach the people knowledge, and he pondered, and he searched, and he arranged many proverbs. Qoheleth sought to find words of delight and to record uprightly—words of truth.12.10 Or and to record what was upright and true The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails implanted by the masters of collections, given by one Shepherd.12.11 Or shepherd And further, by these my son, be warned: To the making of many books there is no end, and much study is weariness to the flesh. The conclusion of the whole of matter has been heard. You shall fear God and keep His commandments—for this is the whole of the man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.