伝道者の書 1:12-18 JCB

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 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, 1. By his own experience; he tried them all, and found them vanity. 2. By an induction of particulars; and here he begins with that which bids fairest of all to be the happiness of a reasonable creature, and that is knowledge and learning; if this be vanity, every thing else must needs be so. Now as to this, I. Solomon tells us here... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12

I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Solomon having given a general proof of the vanity of all things here below, and of the insufficiency of them to make men happy, proceeds to particular instances, and begins with human wisdom and knowledge, which of all things might be thought to be most conducive to true happiness; and yet it falls short of it: he instances in himself for proof of it; and he could not have pitched on anyone more proper and pertinent to the purpose, who had... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:13

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom ,.... As he had all advantages and opportunities, so he did not want for industry and application to obtain knowledge; he gave his mind to it; he took up a resolution not to be discouraged by any difficulties, but to break through them, if possible; he set about the work with great readiness and cheerfulness; he had a price in his hand to get wisdom, and he had a heart unto it; see Proverbs 17:16 ; and he pursued it with all diligence,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:14

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun ,.... All things done by the Lord, that were on the earth, and in it, and in the sea; he considered them, and endeavoured to search into the nature of them; and did attain to a very great knowledge of them, so that he could speak of them to the instruction of others; see 1 Kings 4:33 ; and all that were done by men, by their head, or by their hands; all that were written or wrought by them; all their philosophical works and experiments,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:15

That which is crooked cannot be made straight ,.... By all the art and cunning, wisdom and knowledge of man, that he can attain unto; whatever he, in the vanity of his mind, may find fault with in the works of God, either of nature of providence, and which he may call crooked, it is not in his power to make them straight, or to mend them; see Ecclesiastes 7:13 . There is something which, through sin, is crooked, in the hearts, in the nature, in the principles, ways and works, of men;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:16

I communed with my own heart ,.... That is, looked into it, examined it, and considered what a stock and fund of knowledge he had in it, after all his researches into it; what happiness accrued to him by it, and what judgment upon the whole was to be formed upon it; and he spoke within himself after this manner: saying, lo, I am come to great estate ; or become a great man; famous for wisdom, arrived to a very great pitch of it; greatly increased in it, through a diligent application to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

And I gave my heart to know wisdom ,.... Which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, from Ecclesiastes 1:13 , and that it might be taken notice of how assiduous and diligent he had been in acquiring it; a circumstance not to be overlooked; and to know madness and folly : that he might the better know wisdom, and learn the difference between the one and the other, since opposites illustrate each other; and that he might shun madness and folly, and the ways thereof, and expose the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

For in much wisdom is much grief ,.... In getting it, and losing it when it is gotten: or "indignation" F20 רב כעס "multa ira", Pagninus, Montanus; "indignatio", V. L. Tigurine version, Vatablus, Drusius; "multum indignationis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. , at himself and others; being more sensible of the follies and weakness of human nature; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow : for, the more he knows, the more he would know, and is more eager after... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:12

I the Preacher was king - This is a strange verse, and does not admit of an easy solution. It is literally, "I, Choheleth, have been king over Israel, in Jerusalem." This book, as we have already seen, has been conjectured by some to have been written about the time that Ptolemy Philadelphus formed his great library at Alexandria, about two hundred and eighty-five years before our Lard; and from the multitude of Jews that dwelt there, and resorted to that city for the sake of commerce, it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:13

And I gave my heart to seek and search - While Solomon was faithful to his God he diligently cultivated his mind. His giving himself to the study of natural history, philosophy, poetry, etc., are sufficient proofs of it. He had not intuitive knowledge from God; but he had a capacity to obtain every kind of knowledge useful to man. This sore travail - This is the way in which knowledge is to be acquired; and in order to investigate the operations of nature, the most laborious discussions... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:13

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