Why does Ecclesiastes say work can be hated or grievous?

Ecclesiastes describes the frustration of labor because what a person toils for may be left “to the man that shall be after me,” who did not work for it (Ecclesiastes 2:18–19). This transfer, along with “sorrow” and restless nights, is given as a reason work can feel burdensome (Ecclesiastes 2:22–23).

Passage context

In Ecclesiastes 2:17–23 the speaker says his work and achievements make him loathe life, because everything he gains must be handed to someone after him. That successor might be wise or foolish, yet will control what the speaker built with skill. This realization drives him into despair about work. This unit sits inside the speaker’s report of testing major life paths “under the sun,” especially wisdom, pleasure, and accomplishment (2:1–26). Just before this, he observes that both the wise and the fool die, which already limits what wisdom can secure (2:12–16).

Why it matters

The speaker’s problem is not that work has no value at all, but that its results cannot be secured “under the sun.” He experiences his work as grief because he must hand it over to “the man who comes after” him, and he cannot control whether that person will be wise or foolish (explicit textual claims).

Read carefully

A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.

Keep reading

Start with Ecclesiastes 2:18-19, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.