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9 Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
10 So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, still faces the threat of meaninglessness.

Ecclesiastes 12

12:1 Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.
2 It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds.
3 Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too.
4 And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat! Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice.
5 You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death's door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.
7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 "All is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless."

Concluding Thoughts

9 Because the Teacher was wise, he taught the people everything he knew. He collected proverbs and classified them.
10 Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth, and he did so in an interesting way.
11 A wise teacher's words spur students to action and emphasize important truths. The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd.
12 But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!
13 Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.
14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. NLT

COMMENTS ON ECCLESIASTES

I. INTRODUCTION: THE FUTILITY OF ALL HUMAN ENDEAVOR (1:1-11)

In this introductory section the author identified himself (v. 1), stated his theme (v. 2), and defended it in general terms (vv. 3-11).

A. TITLE (1:1)

1:1. As with other wisdom literature in the Old Testament (e.g., Proverbs 30:1; 31:1; cf. Proverbs 1:6; 22:17; 24:23) the author of Ecclesiastes identified this book as his own. Elsewhere (Ecclesiastes 12:11), however, he also claimed divine authority for it. The author identified himself only by his titles: the Teacher, a son of David, the king in Jerusalem. As indicated in the Introduction under "Authorship and Date" these titles plus other information in the book (cf. 1:12,16; 2:4-9) suggest that the author was Solomon.

B. THEME: THE FUTILITY OF HUMAN EFFORT (1:2)

1:2. After identifying himself as the author, Solomon declared most emphatically that everything is futile or meaningless. Five times in this one verse he used hebel, the Hebrew word for "meaningless." Four of those times are in a twofold repetition of a Hebrew superlative construction which the KJV renders "Vanity of vanities" and the NIV renders Meaningless! Meaningless! and Utterly meaningless! As indicated in the Introduction's "Theme and Purpose," he used this metaphorical term throughout the book to refer to what is without real substance, value, permanence, significance, or meaning. Here at the outset he applied this to everything, by which he meant all human endeavors, as is obvious from verse 3 and his argument throughout the book.

C. GENERAL SUPPORT: THE FUTILITY OF HUMAN EFFORT DEMONSTRATED FROM NATURE (1:3-11)

In support of his theme, Solomon argued first in broad general terms that it is impossible for human efforts to have permanent value. He did this in a poem on the ceaseless rounds of generations (v. 4) and of nature (vv. 5-7), introduced by a rhetorical question (v. 3) and followed by a poetic conclusion (vv. 8-11).

1. THESIS: NO ULTIMATE PROFIT IN HUMAN LABOR (1:3)

1:3. Solomon followed the announcement of his theme (v. 2) with a rhetorical question which demanded a negative answer. By this device, a common feature in his argumentation (2:2; 3:9; 6:8,11-12; etc.), he denied any profit or gain to a person's labor. The term "gain" (yitron), unique to the Book Ecclesiastes, occurs seven times (1:3; 2:11 ["gained"], 13 ["is better"]; 3:9; 5:9 ["profits"], 5:16; 10:10 [not trans, in the NIV]). "Gain" refers literally to what is left over (a gain or a profit) or metaphorically to what is advantageous or of benefit. Though some things have relative advantage over others (e.g., light over darkness and wisdom over folly, 2:13), Solomon affirmed at the outset that people gain no ultimate advantage or profit from all their toil. By the phrase under the sun he meant "down here on the earth." He used this phrase repeatedly (29 times) throughout the book, often in connection with man's toil.

2. PROOF: CEASELESS, WEARISOME ROUNDS (1:4-11)

Solomon supported his thesis by referring to the ceaseless rounds of generations (v. 4) and of nature (vv. 5-7). From them he concluded that people's labor, like these ceaseless rounds, produces nothing permanent or satisfying (vv. 8-11).

a. The impermanence of man (1:4)

1:4. The first fact Solomon cited in support of his thesis is the impermanence of a person's existence. In contrast with the earth, the scene of one's labor, which remains (lit., "stands") forever, every person is a transitory being, a small part of the coming and going generations.

b. The ceaseless rounds of nature (1:5-7)

1:5-7. The second fact Solomon cited in support of his thesis is the ineffectiveness of labor, demonstrated by nature's ceaseless activity. Mere activity in and of itself produces nothing of ultimate value. The sun and the wind are in constant motion but never arrive at any fixed goal or lasting rest. The streams continually flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full. (NASB'S "to the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again" is preferred to NIV'S to the place the streams come from, there they return again.) Thus all the activity of nature is monotonous (round and round... ever returning) and wearisome (hurries in v. 5 means lit., "pants [from exhaustion]"; cf. Jeremiah 14:6), without effecting any progress or reaching any fixed goal.

c. The repetition of human endeavors (1:8-11)

1:8-11. Next Solomon argued that what is observable in the rounds of nature is also true of all human endeavor. Nothing happens or is done that is really new (v. 9). Things are only apparently new (v. 10 a) because people do not recollect former actions, events, and accomplishments (vv. 10 b-11). (NASB'S "earlier things... later things" is preferred to NIV'S men of old... those who are yet to come because the missing noun or antecedent is to be supplied for the Heb. adjectives "earlier" and "later" from all, things in v. 8 and anything in v. 10.) As several commentators note, Solomon did not intend by this to deny human creativity but to deny the complete newness of people's accomplishments. For example, man's journey to the moon and the discovery of America, though different, were both explorations of distant places, involving adventure and risk. And the invention of dynamite and of the atomic bomb shared the element of discovering an "explosive." Thus what is true in the realm of nature - the constant repetition of previous accomplishments - is in essence true of the activity of people and is included in the observation that all things produce only indescribable weariness and lack of satisfaction (all things are wearisome, v. 8).

II. THE FUTILITY OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT EMPIRICALLY DEMONSTRATED (1:12-6:9)

This long section is united by the repetition of the phrase "meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Apart from its occurrence at 4:4 where it seems to introduce a new section, this formula stands near the end of each of several sections and announces Solomon's verdict on the value of human achievement (1:12-15), human wisdom (1:16-18; 2:12-17), plea-sure-seeking (2:1-11), and toil or labor (2:18-6:9).

A. PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE FUTILITY OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT (1:12-2:17)

The four parts of this section, which contain Solomon's allusions to his own experiences, are clearly tied together in two pairs. Thus the repetition of the wisdom, madness, and folly motif (1:17; 2:12) is not redundant but deals with wisdom's relationship to his personal investigation into the value of human achievements (1:12-15) and to his personal experience of the futility of pleasure-seeking (2:1-11).

1. FUTILITY OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT SHOWN BY PERSONAL INVESTIGATION (1:12-15)

1:12-15. Solomon began his argument on the futility of human achievement by citing his own personal investigation into its value. Alluding to his wide opportunities for observation because of his position as the King of Israel (v. 12; cf. v. 16; 2:12), he stated that, aided by his surpassing wisdom and knowledge (1:13; cf. v. 16; 1 Kings 4:26-34), he had made a thorough (indicated by the use of the synonyms study and explore in Ecclesiastes 1:13) and comprehensive investigation of all kinds of human activities (i.e., all that is done under heaven; cf. "under the sun," v. 14). He concluded that they are all a heavy burden (v. 13, 'inyan ra', "a bad or unpleasant task"; trans. "a miserable business" in 4:8 and "some misfortune" in 5:14) and thus futile or meaningless. In fact they are as useless as chasing after the wind, a graphic picture of effort expended with no results gained since no one can catch the wind by running after it. Solomon used this phrase nine times, all in the first half of the book (1:14,17; 2:11,17,26; 4:4,6,16; 6:9).

Solomon based this verdict on his observations which had shown him that human achievements leave much to be desired. Human effort and action cannot remedy all the irregularities or counteract all the deficiencies observable in the nature of things (1:14-15; cf. 7:13).

2. FUTILITY OF HUMAN WISDOM SHOWN BY PERSONAL REFLECTION (1:16-18)

1:16-18. Solomon also argued that when he reflected (v. 17) on his surpassing wisdom and vast experience (v. 16) by means of which he had conducted the preceding investigation (cf. v. 13) and had reached his somber conclusion, he realized that it held little real advantage over madness and folly (i.e., foolish ideas and pleasures; cf. 2:2,13-14). His pursuit of wisdom was as frustrating as chasing after the wind, and its acquisition, far from alleviating the depression created by his somber verdict, merely increased his mental anguish (sorrow) and sadness of heart (grief).

3. FUTILITY OF PLEASURE-SEEKING SHOWN BY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (2:1-11)

Turning from the report of his careful investigation into the value of human achievement in general (cf. 2:12-15), Solomon next described an experiment he conducted on the value of pleasure. Emphasizing the objective nature of his experiment under the guiding hand of wisdom (2:3,9), he announced the goal and conclusion of his experiment (vv. 1-2), described the means by which he sought and found pleasure (vv. 3-10), and related them to the ultimate value of his accomplishments (v. 11).