A Poem on Youth and Old Age (11:7-12:8)

            The Teacher concludes with a poem exhorting the young to good cheer (Eccl. 11:7-12:1) and recounting the troubles of old age (Eccl. 12:2-8). It recapitulates the pattern found in the earlier sections of the book. There is much good to be found in our life and work, but ultimately it is all fleeting. The Teacher closes as he began, “Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity” (Eccl. 12:8).