Once again, Qohelet challenges what the ancient sages taught, this time with a bitter irony based on two classic postulates found in verses 12b and 13 (cf. Prov 14:27; Ps 37): there was a strong belief that those who do good cannot go wrong, and vice versa.
The wise man revisits the theme of the world’s injustices (3:16-18; 4:1-3; 5:7-9; 7:15): the wicked pretending to be pious, the lack of justice for crime, and the luck that does not favor the honest. Experience is his most persuasive proof. The solution? Qohelet doesn’t provide one, or rather, he points it elsewhere: the greatest happiness is to rejoice in what you have, as shown in 5:17-19.
We said at the beginning that Ecclesiastes reflects on the end of his life. From the perspective of someone who has had everything, he raises various questions and offers his own conclusions, seemingly unconcerned with challenging traditions. Here, the issue at stake is human happiness, or, to use the technical term, retribution. For the Preacher, the only retribution one can aspire to is to enjoy everyday things, given that unjust situations are part of the fabric of the world. According to him, anyone who insists on obtaining their reward through justice will fail. And why not seek happiness, not so much to achieve justice, but to fight for it?