Ecclesiasteschapter 6

1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

10 Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.

11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

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Chapter summary

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The darkest turn of the gift: a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, 'yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it — this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.' Better an untimely birth than a man who begets a hundred children and lives a thousand years twice told with no burial and no good. 'All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.' Who knoweth what is good for man in his vain life, which he spendeth as a shadow?

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

Poetry · Solomon — Ecclesiastes overview

A. 1–6 Riches Given, and No Power to Eat Thereof
B. 7–12 Who Knoweth What Is Good for Man in His Vain Days?

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Ecclesiastes 54 verses
- Ecclesiastes 5:7For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
- Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
- Ecclesiastes 5:19Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
- Read Ecclesiastes 5 →
Ecclesiastes 42 verses
- Ecclesiastes 4:3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 4:16There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Read Ecclesiastes 4 →
Ecclesiastes 32 verses
- Ecclesiastes 3:20All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
- Ecclesiastes 3:22I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
- Read Ecclesiastes 3 →
1 Timothy 62 verses
- 1 Timothy 6:6Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- 1 Timothy 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Read 1 Timothy 6 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Psalms 731 verse
- Psalms 73:7From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
- Read Psalms 73 →
Psalms 171 verse
- Psalms 17:14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand— from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
- Read Psalms 17 →
Job 31 verse
- Job 3:16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?
- Read Job 3 →
2 Kings 91 verse
- 2 Kings 9:35But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.
- Read 2 Kings 9 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.