# Ecclesiastes 1.2

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Ecclesiastes](/codex/ecclesiastes/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
>
> **2. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.**
>
> 3. What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? 4. One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
>
> **2. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”**
>
> 3. What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun? 4. One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
>
> **2. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.**
>
> 3. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? 4. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 1. Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
>
> **2. Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.**
>
> 3. What advantage [is] to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun? 4. A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Qohelet (traditionally Solomon)
- **Audience:** wisdom-seekers facing life's apparent vanity
- **Location:** Israel
- **Time period:** traditionally c. 935 BC (Solomon); some scholars date later c. 450-200 BC

## Theological reading

## Key words

_No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Spirit of Vanity and Futility](/codex/spirit-of-vanity-and-futility/)

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