(7) Then I returned.—The vanity of toil is especially apparent in the case of a solitary man. It is possible, as has been suggested (see Ecclesiastes 2:18), that this may have been the writer’s own case. The following verses, which speak of the advantages of friendship and unity, are of a more cheerful tone than the rest of the book.

4:7,8 Frequently, the more men have, the more they would have; and on this they are so intent, that they get no enjoyment from what they have. Selfishness is the cause of this evil. A selfish man cares for nobody; there is none to take care of but himself, yet he will scarcely allow necessary rest to himself, and the people he employs. He never thinks he has enough. He has enough for his calling, for his family, but he has not enough for his eyes. Many are so set upon the world, that in pursuit of it they bereave themselves, not only of the favour of God and eternal life, but of the pleasures of this life. The distant relations or strangers who inherit such a man's wealth, never thank him. Covetousness gathers strength by time and habit; men tottering on the brink of the grave, grow more grasping and griping. Alas, and how often do we see men professing to be followers of Him, who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, anxiously scraping money together and holding it fast, excusing themselves by common-place talking about the necessity of care, and the danger of extravagance!The spectacle of a prosperous man whose condition is rendered vain by his brotherless, childless isolation.7. A vanity described in Ec 4:8. No text from Poole on this verse.

Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. Another vanity besides what he had taken notice of, and is as follows. Aben Ezra's note is,

"I turned from considering the words of this fool, and I saw another fool, the reverse of the former.''

Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.