Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11

summary
Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:11 recounts the Teacher’s experiment with chasing the value of life through wisdom, pleasure, work, and wealth. He throws himself into everything, learning, laughter, building projects, possessions, and entertainment, denying himself nothing. But in the end, he finds it all empty and leaves him unsatisfied, because it doesn’t last and can’t give true purpose.

key verses
2:10-11 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.