What is the book of Ecclesiastes about?
Ecclesiastes is the Bible’s honest book about meaning. The Preacher (Solomon, traditionally) explores every quest "under the sun" — wealth, pleasure, work, power — and finds them all "vanity," a chasing after wind, apart from God.
"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (1:2). The Hebrew word can mean breath, vapor, fleeting mist — life without God is here and gone.
The conclusion is not nihilism but proper proportion: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13). Meaning is found above, not under, the sun.
Ecclesiastes is gold for the disillusioned. It lets you say out loud the disappointments of life — and then points you toward the only one big enough to satisfy.
Original BibleDawn answer · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.