Vanity of Vanities
By Stephen Ray
@JediYoda (1646)
Samoa
May 7, 2017 4:15pm CST
It doesn't makes sense at all reading the opening Chapter of "The Book of Ecclesiastes" (Ecclesiates 1:2) when King Solomon says, "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity".(NKJV) So strange for King Solomon to have said that since he was a king, wise and a rich man.
In another modern translation I read it as "It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher. Life is useless, all is useless." (Good News Bible).
Is King Solomon not happy with his life? Why a very pessimistic view of life? Is life not worth living at all if it is all vanitiy or if life is useless?
3 people like this
3 responses
@EMuhungi (1712)
• Nairobi, Kenya
8 May 17
@Lupita234 True, the lifespan of a human keeps reducing in the current world.
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
7 May 17
I think he may have been seeing some reality that maybe we all feel at times.
Sort of like what will be will be.
It is not pessimistic to me just a dose of infrequent reality.
We cannot stay in this mode however, because if this is the case and all is useless, we would never survive or accomplish anything. I am sure everyone feels this at times.
It was just King Solomon being human.
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@JediYoda (1646)
• Samoa
9 May 17
@TirasOceanView That observation maybe quite true indeed.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (55131)
•
7 May 17
I think what he really means is that regardless of how rich we are, we all must eventually die and return to the dust from whence we came. Rich or poor we all must die - and the rich will feel it more, because he cannot take his land, his houses and other possessions with him. All will be left for someone else to enjoy.
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