I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- KJV I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- BSB I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- NASB I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
- NLT I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Preacher identifies himself as king over Israel in Jerusalem. This grounds his investigation in unmatched resources and authority to test life's pursuits.
Overview
By restating his royal office, Qoheleth establishes his credentials for the inquiry that follows. As king he had the wealth, power, and wisdom to explore every avenue of meaning. His conclusions therefore carry weight: if even the greatest earthly king found all to be vanity, lasting satisfaction must lie beyond what this world can give.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Eccl 1:1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
- 1 Kgs 4:1–19King Solomon was king over all Israel.
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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