Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
Then I looked at everything I had accomplished with my own hands and all the hard work I had done. And I realized that it was all meaningless and frustrating, like chasing after the wind. There was no lasting benefit in any of it in this earthly life.
The writer is reflecting on how all his achievements and hard work ultimately felt empty and pointless when he really examined them.
📚 Historical Context
This verse comes from King Solomon's philosophical reflections on life, written during his later years as king of Israel. Solomon had experienced unprecedented wealth, wisdom, and accomplishments, yet he found himself questioning the ultimate meaning of worldly success. The book of Ecclesiastes represents his honest wrestling with life's deeper questions about purpose and fulfillment.
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