The Book of Ecclesiastes

By: King James Bible

Narrated by: Diane Havens

"Vanity of vanities ... all is vanity." Ecclesiastes reminds us of the transitory nature of life and ponders its meaning. Many familiar phrases and passages are found in it -- the most well known perhaps "To everything there is a season..." In fact, many book titles are taken from Ecclesiastes: John Grisham's "A Time to Kill", Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises", Henry James' "The Golden Bowl", Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth", and James Agee's "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men".

Thomas Wolfe wrote of it, "For of all I have ever seen or learned, this book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man's life upon this earth – and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound." This is the poetic King James Version, narrated by award winning voice artist Diane Havens.

Public Domain (P)2012 Diane Havens