Life under the sun — the Preacher weighs it all and finds where meaning lives.
"To every thing there is a ______, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
'To every thing there is a season' became a number-one hit in 1965 — The Byrds' 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' is nearly word-for-word Ecclesiastes 3, making it the oldest lyric ever to top the charts.
The word translated 'vanity' — hevel — literally means vapor or breath. The Preacher isn't saying life is worthless; he's saying you can't hold it.
Ecclesiastes gave English 'nothing new under the sun,' 'eat, drink, and be merry,' and 'cast thy bread upon the waters' — three idioms from one short book.
After twelve chapters of searching, the conclusion lands in two lines: 'Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.'