Changes

== Overview ==

== Overview ==

With his life largely behind him, Solomon takes stock of the world as he has experienced it between birth and his inevitable death - the later a horizon beyond which man can not see<ref>The NIV Study Bible (1985), Zondervan Press, Pg. 991</ref>  The world is seen as being full of enigmas, the greatest of which is man himself.  From his perspective of life experiences, he has found that his great wisdom still has limits and he can not know everything on his own.  It is in many ways a brooding book, and only in the end does Solomon turn to God for answers with the admonition to trust in Him.  Due to Solomon's life of sin, he appears to be a man from the outside looking in and trying to see what he missed in life.  Whether or not he truly embraces God with his whole heart or merely responds to what he missed and knows the answer intellectually is unclear.

With his life largely behind him, Solomon takes stock of the world as he has experienced it between birth and his inevitable death - the later a horizon beyond which man can not see<ref>The NIV Study Bible (1985), Zondervan Press, Pg. 991</ref>. The world is seen as being full of enigmas, the greatest of which is man himself.  From his perspective of life experiences, he has found that his great wisdom still has limits and he can not know everything on his own.  It is in many ways a brooding book, and only in the end does Solomon turn to God for answers with the admonition to trust in Him.  Due to Solomon's life of sin, he appears to be a man from the outside looking in and trying to see what he missed in life.  Whether or not he truly embraces God with his whole heart or merely responds to what he missed and knows the answer intellectually is unclear.

 

== Famous sections ==

== Famous sections ==

Many phrases and passages in it are famous: "to eat, and to drink, and to be merry," "there is no new thing under the sun," "the race is not to the swift." The titles of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''The Sun Also Rises'', [[Edith Wharton]]'s ''The House of Mirth'', and [[George Stewart]]'s ''Earth Abides'' are all phrases from Ecclesiastes. Folksinger [[Pete Seeger]] made a passage from it into the song "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" which, when recorded by The Byrds, was a #1 hit in the United States in 1965.

Many phrases and passages in it are famous: "to eat, and to drink, and to be merry," "there is no new thing under the sun," "the race is not to the swift." The titles of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''The Sun Also Rises'', [[Edith Wharton]]'s ''The House of Mirth'', and [[George Stewart]]'s ''Earth Abides'' are all phrases from Ecclesiastes. Folksinger [[Pete Seeger]] made a passage from it into the song "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" which, when recorded by The Byrds, was a #1 hit in the United States in 1965.