Ecclesiastes 12:8 (GNV)

Passage

Vanitie of vanities, saieth the Preacher, all is vanitie.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 12:6 Whiles the siluer coarde is not lengthened, nor the golden ewer broken, nor the pitcher broken at the well, nor the wheele broken at the cisterne:

Ecclesiastes 12:7 And dust returne to the earth as it was, and the spirit returne to God that gaue it.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 Vanitie of vanities, saieth the Preacher, all is vanitie.

Ecclesiastes 12:9 And the more wise the Preacher was, the more he taught the people knowledge, and caused them to heare, and searched foorth, and prepared many parables.

Ecclesiastes 12:10 The Preacher sought to finde out pleasant wordes, and an vpright writing, euen the wordes of trueth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "vanitie", "vanities", "saieth", and "preacher". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "vanitie" and "vanities", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And dust returne to the earth as..." into verse 9's "And the more wise the Preacher was...", so "vanitie" and "vanities" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "vanitie" and "vanities" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.