Read the book: «ECCLESIASTES A Poetic Rendering A Fresh Look at a Timeless Masterpiece of Wisdom»

ECCLESIASTES
A Poetic Rendering

A Fresh Look at a Timeless Masterpiece of Wisdom

FROM THE AUTHOR

An Appeal to the Thinking Reader

Dear friend!

The book you hold in your hands is not merely a tribute to the great poetry of the Old Testament, nor an attempt to rival the elegance of past translators’ prose.

This is the result of a long spiritual quest, an analytical reflection, and, if you will, a personal existential challenge. The Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) has traditionally been seen as a manifesto of religious pessimism. Its textbook verdict—“vanity of vanities”—has, for centuries, left the thinking person in a dead‑end of fatalism, seeming to affirm the meaninglessness of earthly existence. But I am deeply convinced that this great text conceals an entirely different, life‑affirming code. And my goal is to help you decipher it.

The great book of Ecclesiastes is strikingly relevant even today; it helps us deeply contemplate our very existence. The vicissitudes of fate described in it are ones we sometimes witness daily in our own ordinary lives. The world around us may seem chaotic and unjust, but in my poetic rendering, I invite you to go beyond the conventional understanding of faith as a harsh, burdensome duty or as fear of the Almighty.

In the final part of my work, I took a bold step: I introduced into the concluding, key verse a category that is not originally present in the source text — the category of human happiness. In the whirlwind of days, the most important thing is not to despair, but to remain faithful to the unshakable moral principles set forth in the Torah. It is then that human life becomes truly meaningful, and you will find genuine, profound happiness even amidst the everyday vanity.

This book is written for those who are not afraid to think, to doubt, and to seek. I sincerely hope that my interpretation of the meaning of Ecclesiastes will open new spiritual landmarks for you and bring true enlightenment to your soul.

With best wishes on your journey of discovery, Sergiusz Manzhievsky

CHAPTER I

(1) The words and thoughts of Cohelet, the son of David, the sovereign King of Jerusalem!

(2) Vanity of vanities, — said Cohelet, — vanity of vanities all around, all is vanity.

(3) What profit hath a man from all his labor, toiling all his life in vain?

(4) Generations depart and generations arrive, yet the earth remains immutable, spinning headlong around its axis.

(5) The sun ariseth and the sun goeth down, yet tomorrow it will rise once more in its perpetual race,

(6) The sun travelleth toward the south, and maketh its turn to the north.

The wind whirleth, and moveth, and bloweth, and whistleth, and roareth,

And returneth into its circuits, completing its rotation around the earth.

(7) All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea doth not overflow its banks;

The riverbeds remain full and deep, and almost never dry out or fade away.

(8) All things are wearisome, and no man can fathom the fullness of this world;

The eyes are never satisfied with seeing, nor are the ears ever filled with a craving for new things to hear.

(9) That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done;

And there is no new thing under the great luminaries: the sun and the moon.

(10) Is there anything whereof it may be said, "Behold, this is new, it cometh ahead"?

Nay, it hath been already in the ancient ages, which passed long before thee and me.

(11) Those in power distort the memory of the generations that have departed,

And of the subsequent ones to come, they shall surely warp and erase the trace.

Those who come after will never know the truth in all its manifestations and light,

(12) I, Cohelet, was King over Israel in Jerusalem, and in this I find no joy.

(13) And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom a sacred doctrine,

Concerning all that is done under heaven, across the earth, in everything and everywhere.

"A grievous task hath God laid upon the sons of men," — I came to the deep conviction,

"So that for the original sin, they should fear and ever hold Him in remembrance."

(14) I have seen all the works that are done under the sun,

And I drew the verdict — all is vanity and a headlong march into nowhere.

(15) Only the grave can straighten the hunchback's spine,

And that which is wanting cannot be numbered or computed for evermore.

(16) I communed with mine own heart, saying, "Lo, I have multiplied my wisdom,

And increased it more than all they that have been before me upon the throne;

Yea, my heart absorbed great wealth of wisdom and knowledge."

I summed it up,Yet nothing changed in the course of my life after that very day.

(17) And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly;

I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit, and nothing more than that.

(18) For in much wisdom is much vexation: multiplying wisdom, thou growest only more sullen,

And he that increaseth knowledge increaseth disconsolate sorrow for all things.