Last night was my birthday, so I thought it made sense to read one of my favorite books in the Bible. Below are the things I stopped to think about. Sharing short quotes like this—divorced from their context—undoubtedly will make some of them difficult to understand… I didn’t add any verse references, but you can search NIV for the text and find them easily enough. It’ll take too long to explain why I chose each one, so I’ll simply give you the simple list.

  • Everything is meaningless
  • The sea is never full
  • Nothing new under the sun
  • No remembrance of men of old
  • With much wisdom comes much sorrow
  • I wanted to see
  • Nothing was gained under the sun
  • So I hated live, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me
  • What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days, his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest.
  • Find satisfaction
  • Yet they cannot fathom what God has done
  • God will call the past to account
  • There is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work
  • All labor and all achievement spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor
  • Better one handful with tranquility
  • Two are better than one
  • Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools
  • God is in heaven and you are on earth so let your words be few
  • Stand in awe of God
  • Whoever loves money never has enough
  • Frustration, affliction, and anger
  • Gladness of heart
  • The more the words, the less the meaning
  • It is better to go to the house of mourning
  • The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning
  • Wise man’s rebuke
  • The song of fools
  • Patience is better than pride, do not be easily provoked
  • Consider what God has done
  • Do not pay attention to every word people say
  • Do not stand up for a bad cause
  • Wickedness will not release those who practice it
  • There is a time when a man lords it over others to his (or their) own hurt
  • I commend the enjoyment of life
  • The same destiny overtakes all
  • Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love
  • Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might
  • Time and chance happen to them all
  • One sinner destroys much good
  • A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor
  • Skill will bring success
  • A fool is consumed by his own lips
  • You cannot understand the work of God
  • Banish anxiety from your heart
  • Everything is meaningless
  • Fear God and keep his commandments
  • Evil