“Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
My Notes
What Does Ecclesiastes 2:17 Mean?
Solomon — the wisest and wealthiest king in Israel's history — declares: "I hated life." The work done under the sun is grievous, and everything amounts to vanity and vexation of spirit. The man who had everything found that everything wasn't enough.
The word "hated" (sane) is strong — active revulsion, not mere dissatisfaction. Solomon didn't just tire of life; he developed an aversion to it. The cause is specified: "the work that is wrought under the sun" — not work in general, but work limited to the earthly perspective ("under the sun" is Ecclesiastes' phrase for life without an eternal dimension).
"Vanity and vexation of spirit" (hevel u-re'uth ruach) is Ecclesiastes' signature verdict: vapor and chasing wind. Everything Solomon achieved — buildings, gardens, wealth, wisdom — felt like grabbing at smoke. The vapor doesn't satisfy, and the wind can't be caught.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you experienced the 'vapor' feeling — achieving something and finding it didn't satisfy?
- 2.What does 'under the sun' mean for how you evaluate your work and accomplishments?
- 3.How does an eternal perspective change work that feels meaningless from an earthly perspective?
- 4.What is your life looking to for satisfaction that it can't provide?
Devotional
The richest, wisest person in the ancient world says: I hated life. Everything I worked for is vapor. Every achievement is wind-chasing. If anyone should have been satisfied by what life offers, it was Solomon. And he wasn't.
This is Ecclesiastes' most uncomfortable truth: success doesn't satisfy. Not because success is bad, but because human hearts are designed for something that success can't provide. Solomon had wisdom, wealth, power, pleasure — and at the end of the catalogue, he found only frustration. Not because the things were empty, but because he was looking to them for something they couldn't deliver.
"Under the sun" is the crucial phrase. Solomon's despair isn't about life itself — it's about life viewed from a purely earthly perspective. When the horizon of your meaning-making is limited to this life, even the greatest achievements become vapor. There's no permanence, no lasting significance, no ultimate satisfaction in anything done purely under the sun.
If you've ever felt the same despair — if achievement has left you empty, if success hasn't delivered what it promised, if you look at everything you've built and feel the vapor slipping through your fingers — Solomon says: that feeling is accurate. Under the sun, it is vanity. The antidote isn't more achievement. It's a perspective that extends beyond the sun — an eternal dimension that transforms temporary work into permanent significance.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Therefore I hated life,.... Not strictly and simply understood, since life is the gift of God; and a great blessing it…
Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecc 2:13.…
Business is a thing that wise men have pleasure in. They are in their element when they are in their business, and…
Therefore I hated life Better, And I hated. Of such a temper, the extremest form of pessimism, suicide would seem the…
Cross References
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