Ecclesiastes 2:17 - Exposition

Therefore I hated life; et idcirce taeduit me vitae meae . Be a man wise or foolish, his life leads only to one end and is soon forgotten; hence life itself is burdensome and hateful. The bitter complaint of Job ( Job 3:20 , etc.; Job 6:8 , Job 6:9 ) is here echoed, though the words do not point to suicide as the solution of the riddle. It is the ennui and unprofitableness of all life and action in view of the inevitable conclusion, which is here lamented. Because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me; literally, for evil unto me ( Esther 3:9 ) is the work which is done under the sun . The toil and exertions of men pressed upon him like a burden too heavy for him to bear. Symmachus, κακόν μοι ἐφάνη τὸ ἔργον ; Septuagint, πονηρὸν ἐπ ἐμὲ τὸ ποίημα κ . τ . λ .. He repeats the expression, "under the sun," as if to show that he was regarding human labor only in its earthly aspect, undertaken and executed for temporal and selfish considerations alone. The apostle teaches a 'better lesson, and the worker who adopts his rule is saved from this crushing disappointment: "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ" ( Colossians 3:23 , Colossians 3:24 ). For all is vanity. He comes back to the same miserable refrain; it is all emptiness, striving after wind.