The Preacher poses this unasked question to expose the tragic absurdity of endless labor without reflection or purpose. By articulating what the lonely person should ask but does not, the Preacher reveals the emptiness of accumulation divorced from relationship, love, or enjoyment.

The lonely person never asks this question; that is precisely the tragedy. He continues laboring endlessly, eyes never satisfied with riches, perpetually denying himself pleasure without pausing to examine the purpose of his existence. The Preacher’s declaration that this is vanity and sore travail serves as the response to the question the lonely person should ask but does not.

The question ‘For whom am I toiling?’ strikes at the heart of human motivation and meaning. The Hebrew construction emphasizes the interrogative ‘for whom’ (lemi), pressing the issue of beneficiary, who profits from this endless labor? The Preacher’s genius lies in presenting this as the question the lonely person never asks, revealing that unexamined life leads to meaningless toil. Why frame this as a question rather than a statement? Because questions demand response and reflection, and the lonely person’s failure to ask this question demonstrates his spiritual deadness. The second half,’why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?’, compounds the tragedy, for the man denies himself even present pleasure without future purpose. Theologically, this passage indicts any life philosophy that severs work from relationship, achievement from community, and accumulation from enjoyment. The lonely person’s existence is vanity (hebel, vapor, emptiness) precisely because human beings were created for communion with God and others, not isolated productivity.