Ecclesiastes 1:12-14

The Vanity of Wisdom

¹² I _o the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I _p applied my heart ₁ to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy _q business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is _r vanity and a striving after wind. ₂

1. Cross References
   Ecclesiastes 1:1
   The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
   
2. Cross References
   Ecclesiastes 1:17
   And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
   1 Kings 4:33
   He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.
   
3. Cross References
   Ecclesiastes 2:23
   For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
   Ecclesiastes 2:26
   For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
   Ecclesiastes 3:10
   I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
   Genesis 3:19
   By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
   
4. Cross References
   Ecclesiastes 1:2
   Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity o...
   Ecclesiastes 2:11
   Then I considered all that my hands had done an...
   Ecclesiastes 2:17
   So I hated life, because what is done under the...
   Ecclesiastes 2:26
   For to the one who pleases him God has given wi...
   Ecclesiastes 4:4
   Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work ...
   Ecclesiastes 6:9
   Better is the sight of the eyes than the wander...