Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Preacher addresses his readers by recounting his own retrospective evaluation after exhausting every earthly pleasure and achievement. He speaks at the precise moment of concluding his experiment with human labor and indulgence.
The words — The phrase וּפָנִיתִי (u./fa.Ni.ti) translates literally as "and I turned," marking a decisive shift in focus. This verb introduces his final assessment of all his hands' works and toils.
The thread — This conclusion echoes Ecclesiastes 1:14 and 1:3, where the same verdict of futility and zero gain under the sun is declared. The New Testament parallels this in 1 John 2:16 by categorizing worldly pursuits as desires that do not originate from God.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to acknowledge that exhaustive human effort yields no permanent substance. It forces a direct confrontation with the limits of earthly achievement before any other pursuit is considered.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
- 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
- Genesis 1:31 And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
- Exodus 39:43 And Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had accomplished it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
- 1 Timothy 6:6 Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Ecclesiastes 2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Habakkuk 2:13 Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?