Ecclesiastes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- A complete reading of Ecclesiastes, with special attention to verses that have interesting parallels to Hávamál. Part 5 of "The Ranch Porch Series," an irregular series of weekend videos on personal topics or topics not directly related to Old Norse.
Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley and UCLA). He is a historical linguist and an experienced teacher of Old Norse, Modern Icelandic, and Norwegian.
Visit JacksonWCrawford.com (includes a linked list of all videos).
Music © I See Hawks in L.A., courtesy of the artist. Visit www.iseehawks.com/
Logo by Elizabeth Porter (snowbringer at gmail).
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Poetic Edda: www.amazon.com...
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok: www.amazon.com...
Jackson Crawford’s Patreon page: / norsebysw
Christian listeners, tell Dr Crawford that you'd love to have him as your lector in your church. Go on. You know it's true.
"...I am nothing, if not consistent, in my branding." Holds up branded Bible - then turns to read.
Beyond drengr. Understated class.
That intro of you getting out of the truck and the cowboy boots walking is pretty much the most drengr thing ever
Thanks for this. I loved Ecclesiastes long before I discovered Anglo-Saxon and Norse literature and I’m sure it prepared the way for those. Keep up the good work.
I think the author of Havamal, Ecclesiastes, and Hagakure would have all gotten along really well.
Don't forget Epicurus in that list!
Mr. Covlille you watch this channel too? Oh happy day. Btw I love your dnd videos.
Some wisdom is universal.
I realize re-reading this that my grammar implies that all three of those books were written by the same dude.
Conspiracy confirmed.
highly comfy video. Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Proverbs, Wisdom, and Song of Solomon are my favorite old testament books. Such beautiful prose even in translation and great wisdom.
I really love your reading. It has a great musicality to it, with subtle climaxes and cadences. ❤️
A very engaging reading which helped me to understand both Ecclesiastes and the Hávamál better.
Now I need to pull out my copy of Havamal and my Bible to look for some more. I’m currently going through a study of Ecclesiastes with a church group and this might be of interest.
Wow, I could listen to this all day. A perfect ending to a 3 day hike through my beloved mountains.
Young people would do well to consider this all.
One of the greatest things about Ecclesiastes is that is is not bitter but rather realistic in the approach of life. When the writer refers to life as smoke or vapor, he is not making the definition that life is meaningless. Rather, he is stating that that the essence of life and the path we walk towards are obscured and unknowable. One must realize that life is messy and chaotic, but fair in its own way.
The King James Bible is a great refutation of the idea that "decision by committee" never works. It was compiled and translated by a committee of like 17 people and they produced a masterpiece of the English language full of poetry and philosophy that people still quote and will quote for as long as English is spoken.
And it was rejected by the king for rewrites twice (2 times) to bring it into line with his requirements for what would be called "political correctness" today. Then Parliament required three (3) rewrites for the same reason.
Add to that the questionable documents used as reference, and it loses a lot of credence in my and many people's eyes. There are older less "edited and abridged" biblical texts that come closer to original apostolic writings. It is, after all, the writings of some of the apostles that is being grouped into the New Testament, since there are no known writings by the hand of Yeshua ben Yusef. His name was recorded by Greek scribes writing for the apostles as "Jesus", since that is the equivalent of "Yeshua", as Joseph is the equivalent of "Yusef".
Speaking of the Apostles, you are aware of the early (4th century AD) conferences to reduce decent in the early church by selecting the writings that would be collected and approved and form the basis of what would later be called the _Bible_. This meant leaving OUT a number of writings by apostles, as well. Once again, editing the text, both for consistency (all texts must agree) as well as political correctness of the day had to be ensured. Ancient writings, such as some of the Gnostic texts discovered in recent decades, seem to agree with the Apocryphal Texts, those writings Left Out of the canonized biblical texts. These are available in many religious book stores. When one starts exploring the HISTORICAL nature of biblical writings, and not just blindly accepting one person's view or teaching, whether a Protestant Pastor, Catholic Priest, Jewish Rabbi, or whatever, then a much broader and richer view of how and why the current versions of Christianity came about.
Dude no one's gonna read your essays on youtube
But There were 52 translators, some of them even had to talk King James into allowing the translation
The brilliance, beauty, and integrity of style of the KJV is owed mainly to the life's work of William Tyndale; arguably the greatest translator who ever lived.
Revision by committee can work. Most of the base text was by one man.
@Sir Percival the Gallant Yes, there was a deliberate decision to use archaic language, creating living liturgical language. New compositions have long been done in this liturgical language. Until very recently, it was, through use, a familiar and living language. Still, it is true that the KJV and Book of Common Prayer have a living, natural character that is hard to reproduce in the 20th c
I'm a big fan of Lamentations and Job, myself.
The Job Saga
This was a great reading! I needed to listen to it twice. The first time I couldn't stop recognizing the differences between the two cultures. Just can't see the creators of Havamal worrying about vexation of the spirit or vanity. But the second time I listened I could hear the similarities- the slightly cynical tone, themes about impermanence, and even the part about "For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow" sounded a bit like the practical advice in that part of the Eddas. The thing that surprised me the most was a sort of passive, almost resigned view of injustice. I thought this was where the two works would really line up almost exactly. Thanks for doing this- I am about as pagan/animist as it gets, and don't listen to the Bible - even as literature, but I love the King James version best also.
OUTSTANDING READING
I don’t believe that everything must be vanity, and I think that there is a glimpse of hope in this passage, when the author speaks of timing. There is a time for all things, and at the end of the day, not all good things must come to an end. Sometimes, good things are simply put on hold. And, it is how we apply our experiences throughout our days and nights, that determine whether or not it was vanity.
Very comfy!
"Meditations by someone who has drunk both the wine and the vinegar of life..." it has been my experience that listening to a reading by someone who has devoted some time to reflection on the material can significantly alter your understanding of that material. I come away from your reading of this text as I've come away from your readings of Norse texts, with an awareness that these were not meant to be silent words on a sterile page. The text has been written to preserve it, but it is incomplete unless given voice...
I was just reading your translation of Hávamál last night, and I did notice some similarities to the bible. Very interesting topic.
This is vanity... lol
Nay, I say let truth resonate, suffering is a means to expand, experience everything life has to offer, embrace it, grow, flourish.
When I wrote poetry as an angsty teen, I relished my suffering, I wallowed in and adored it. I knew then as I know now that those deep wells of emotion whether negative or positive are resources upon which we draw our strength, forge our armor, and whet our spearheads for battles to come.
Those dark memories become only echoes of perceived reality while truth and love burns the brightest and resonates exponentially until you become.
Groa!
The KJV is brilliant, particularly with the OT heavy weights" Pentateuch, Wisdom Lit, and the Psalms. Great reading, thanks for sharing!
We all love stories, right?
One of my favorite stories is about how this preacher, as a young kid was sort of given ONE wish, and he wished for the very thing all of the prementioned books are full of: Wisdom.
BBC Radio Three broadcast a program called “Between the ears” about the Elfdalian language on Saturday 20th October. Others might like to find it on the iplayer.
It was most certainly enjoyable!
For some reason, the way you pronounce wh- words with the h included makes it feel that much more alive, like I'm somehow watching someone from the past read it. I myself read the North American Standard Bible because I feel like it uses words that fit a bit more with my parlance/vocabulary while retaining a lot of the structure of KJV, but the KJV is still good, and the way you read it makes it feel really natural.
I've been reading through the Bible recently, and this has probably been one of my favorite books so far. It reminds me a lot of some Eastern philosophy as well as some parts of Works and Days by Hesiod.
It;s know the fist monday after a blue moon, sorry to be dramatic but i feel like beaning at a crossroads today
I'd thought I'd coudn't find myself here, even tough I tried to (I don't want to be specific)
It's a nice coincidence to find some poetry, especially from someone who's been hurt, I've always trusted that wisdom more
I agree that Ecclesiastes could be considered a stand alone book,as could Proverbs and the Song of Solomon. The main takeaway I get is that these are not particularly 'religious' books. There is a pattern that emerges when you compare various works .It's like different writers throughout the ages of mankind have tapped into the same universal philosophy and wisdom. Thank you for the reading.
I'm not a Christian or a Jew, and I find a lot of what's in the Bible unpalatable, but there are books, chapters, and verses that are worth reading, although I often find that those with the most value are those that reflect a common human experience.
I also find it interesting that, at least as I heard it, Ecclesiastes goes back and forth between saying that wisdom is kind of meaningless and that wisdom is really important. Perhaps that's a reflection of the paradoxical quality of human experience and human thought, or perhaps it belies a multitude of authors who wrote of similar things and got lumped together upon canonization.
I also found some of his comments about women kind of interesting and all too typical of the attitudes of his time (and, sadly, too often found among some people today!).
Finally, I just thought I'd add, Dr. Crawford, that you have a really pleasant reading voice. It doesn't come through so much when you're reading Old Norse because it's not your first language, and so there's an unnatural staccato quality that often comes with reading a language that isn't your own, no matter how well versed you are in the vocabulary and grammar. But in listening to you read English, with all the natural intonation that comes with it, I found it very pleasing to hear you read aloud.
as i was listening and crocheting as i listened, i kept forgetting that i was listening to you read from the bible...it is just so very similar to Havamal, especially when in the KJV way of speaking. thank you for sharing!
This could only get more on brand for you if you read it in reconstructed early 17th century English pronunciation.
That was nice.
If you are ever interested in a modern Bible translation, I would recommend the Christian Standard Bible. It was translated to sound like normal modern English, but I still find it to be comparable in “literalness” to other translations considered to be on the literal end of the spectrum. It will differ from the KJV some because it is based on a different manuscript family. Regardless, I think it’s one of the better modern translations. Of course, I’m not a professional philologist or theologian, so my opinion probably bears little weight.
Thank you! Wishing you a beautiful weekend. Hugs & sunshine 🌞 N Ps. So sorry for your aviator friend 🙏 .. when I see a injured bird or other animal, I often come to think of a song called "Flickan och kråkan" by Mikael Wiehe. It's a beautiful and also a sad song.. a favourite of mine. 🎶🐦
Thank you Doc. Have a good day 😊
That was extremely enjoyable!
I grew up United Methodist and we used, for the most part, the NIV Bible. So I got used to that translation and as a result found the Elizabethan language of the KJV somewhat....ponderous. Want to read something even more entertaining? Go to biblegateway.com and look up any book of the Bible and select The Message. That version is really, um, INTERESTING.
Tracie Hayes The Message is really just a commentary that somehow got marketed as a translation.
Not the biggest fan of the Bible, for me personally reading it feels extremely tedious, however Ecclesiastes is my favorite section in the Bible
Greetings from Scandinavia :) great job!
Hi Dr Crawford. Are you aware of the Bible Project? I really think you'd find there approach (both TH-cam and podcast) very similar to your approach of Norse works. And I think there are really interesting conversations to be had between both your study and their work
As a life long Christian I'd like to hear your take on the bible, perhaps a series where you got through it book by book, epistle by epistle?
Dr. Jackson Crawford doing a Biblical Series? Dr. Jackdon Peterford. Dr. Jorson Crawterson?
It's my favourite part of the bible
I'd agree in saying your Edda translations are akin to the NIV compared to the KJV. It's why your's are the better versions, lol.
He makes me want to return to church but...I don't know if I can do so. I just don't know that I can do it.
You can
Have you made any content around the etymology of the word "heathen?" I would like your take on the history of that word.
10:25 The Mamas and the Papas
Edit: oh man, I mean The Byrds
I will PARAPHRASE a bit of wisdom to cling to: wise is the man who fitteth his comment into one twitter update., for lo, It is a fool who says too much.
Consistent branding
fyrstr
sorry Dr Crawford.. on this one i must pass.
Why? It’s great
Dr Jackson Crawford is a serious Christian with a custom personal bible. Well I'll be damned.