Where it fits

Ecclesiastes is the 21st book of the Bible, with 12 chapters. The author calls himself “the Teacher” and “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1), which tradition takes to be Solomon. Some scholars think the book was written later, with Solomon as a literary persona. The Hebrew name, Qoheleth, means one who gathers an assembly. Read straight through, it takes about 25 minutes.

What it is and how to read it

The Teacher's key word is hebel, which means breath or vapor. Many translations render it “vanity” or “meaningless,” and it can also mean fleeting or elusive: something you can't hold onto. He applies it to nearly everything: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2). The phrase “under the sun” keeps returning, and it describes life as seen from earth, with no view beyond. He tests wisdom, pleasure, work, and wealth (1–2), finds that none of them satisfies, and notes that death comes to the wise and the foolish alike (2:14–16).

The book isn't an organized argument. It circles through observations: a time for everything (3:1–8), the injustice of life (4:1; 8:14), the limits of wealth (5:10–15), the value of friendship (4:9–12), and the unpredictability of life (9:11–12). Again and again, the Teacher recommends enjoying life as a gift from God: eating, drinking, work, and time with a loved one (2:24; 3:12–13; 9:7–10). The book ends with a poem about aging and death (12:1–7), and an epilogue by another voice that sums it up: fear God and keep his commandments, because God will bring every deed into judgment (12:13–14).

Three ideas to hold on to

1. Life apart from God is fleeting. Wealth, work, wisdom, and pleasure can't give life lasting meaning on their own. “Under the sun,” everything ends in death.
2. Enjoy what God gives. The Teacher repeatedly says that food, work, and love are gifts from God's hand, to be received with joy (2:24; 5:18–20; 9:7–9).
3. Fear God, and remember that you will answer to him. God has put eternity in people's hearts (3:11), and the book's last word points to him (12:13–14).

Passages people ask about

• Ecclesiastes 1:1–11. The opening poem: generations come and go, and nothing is new under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 3:1–15. A time for everything, and the claim that God has set eternity in human hearts (3:11).
• Ecclesiastes 4:9–12. Two are better than one, and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10–20. Money never satisfies, but God can give the ability to enjoy what you have.
• Ecclesiastes 9:7–10. Enjoy life while you can, and do whatever you do with all your might (9:10).
• Ecclesiastes 12:1–14. Remember your Creator while you are young, and the book's closing verdict.

How it points to Jesus

Ecclesiastes asks the biggest question: what is the point, if death ends everything? The Bible's answer comes with Jesus. Paul writes that because Christ has been raised, the believer's labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58), which is exactly what the Teacher cannot see “under the sun.” Jesus' own question, what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul (Mark 8:36), echoes the Teacher's experiments with wealth. And the Teacher's call to fear God finds its fullness in Jesus' call to love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37–40).

A common misunderstanding

Ecclesiastes is often called a depressing, even unbelieving book. It is honest, but it isn't despairing. It records what life looks like if you look only “under the sun,” and then it points the reader to God. Along the way it keeps saying that enjoyment is a gift from God's hand (2:24–25; 5:19). It is also the book that says there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance (3:4). A faith that can read Ecclesiastes is a faith that doesn't pretend.