“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.”
Qohelet's retrospective view of all his works, revealing them as vanity and striving after wind, with no profit under the sun, delivers the verdict that concludes his hedonistic experiment. The formulaic language echoes 1:14, confirming that pleasure-seeking has led to the same conclusion as wisdom-seeking: both vanish into futility. Yet the repetition also suggests a paradoxical progress: Qohelet has learned through experience what he first learned through reflection, deepening rather than merely confirming his understanding of vanity.
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