Ecclesiastes 5:15
in Ecclesiastes 5As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
KJV
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut sad is our case if the soul return as it came, for we were born in sin, and if we die in sin, unsanctified, we had better never have been born; and that seems to be the case of the worldling here spoken of, for he is said to return in all points as he came, as sinful, as miserable, and much more so.
This site's exposition
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun
on Ecclesiastes 5:13-15
The Teacher files a grievous evil: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, then lost in a failed venture, so the son inherits nothing. Verse 15 echoes Job 1:21, As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived.
This site's exposition
naked as he arrived
Wesley and Bonaventure place the return in the earth, the mother of every man. His labor stays behind with his wealth, and Clarke says a rich man's millions are dead to him forever. Henry warns of a soul departing as sinful as it came.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"There is a sickening evil that I have seen under the sun; riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune, and he loses those riches in some bad venture. If he begets a son, he has nothing in hand. As he had come from his mother's womb, naked will he return, as he had come; he can salvage nothing from his labour to take with him. This too, is a sickening evil: Exactly as he came he must depart, and what did he gain in exchange for toiling for the wind? Indeed, all his life he eats in darkness; he is greatly grieved, and has illness and anger." Take what follows as linked to what is written above: while Ecclesiastes describes wealth, even he is not able to enjoy his riches and on many occasions endangers himself on account of them. Nor to his heir does he leave what he has amassed; but even he and his son, just as they came nude, will return nude to the earth and nothing of their toil will accompany them. Surely apathy is the worst, to be tortured by thought on account of riches, and wealth will perish. And are we able to take it with us when we die, in sadness, in mourning, in indignation, in laws or to seek it in vain toil? And all this is according to the apparent simple meaning of the text. But as we are lifted higher, it seems to me that it speaks about the philosophers, or the heretics, who amass riches of doctrines into their wickedness, and nor are authors able to follow any usefulness, nor leave perpetual fruit for their followers. But even they and their disciples return to the earth and lose their riches, from him who said, "I will lose the wisdom of the wise men, and I will reprove the prudence of the careful." [I Cor. 1, 19.] Truly in fact, just as they left their mother's womb, (apparently as from a heretical church), contrary to this about which it is written: "but Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of all." [Gal. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And thus riches that are preserved are not left to the heir, nor can they be carried away by the possessor: whence he adds: "As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return," not into the womb, but into the earth. …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To go - Into the womb of the earth, the common mother of all mankind. Take nothing - This is another vanity. If his estate be neither lost, nor kept to his hurt, yet when he dies he must leave it behind him, and cannot carry one handful of it into another world.
As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
As he came forth - However it may be, he himself shall carry nothing with him into the eternal world. If he die worth millions, those millions are dead to him for ever; so he has had no real profit from all his labors, cares, anxieties, and vast property!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He will take nothing for his labor. When he dies, he will not take with him any merit of charity that he did with his money during his lifetime.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָצָא֙ | yatza' | he came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִבֶּ֣טֶן | mibeten | from [the] womb of | H990 → | |
| אִמּ֔וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | |
| עָר֛וֹם | arom | naked | H6174 → | |
| יָשׁ֥וּב | yashuv | he will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָלֶ֖כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| כְּשֶׁבָּ֑א | kesheba' | when he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וּמְא֙וּמָה֙ | umeumah | and anything | H3972 → | 32 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשָּׂ֣א | yisa' | he will carry | H5375 → | |
| בַעֲמָל֔וֹ | vaamalo | in toil his | H5999 → | 55 times |
| שֶׁיֹּלֵ֖ךְ | sheiyolekh | that he may take | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יָצָא֙he came out
yatza'H3318 →1067 times
מִבֶּ֣טֶןfrom [the] womb of
mibetenH990 →
אִמּ֔וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →
עָר֛וֹםnaked
aromH6174 →
יָשׁ֥וּבhe will return
yashuvH7725 →1056 times
לָלֶ֖כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
כְּשֶׁבָּ֑אwhen he came
kesheba'H935 →2568 times
וּמְא֙וּמָה֙and anything
umeumahH3972 →32 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִשָּׂ֣אhe will carry
yisa'H5375 →
בַעֲמָל֔וֹin toil his
vaamaloH5999 →55 times
שֶׁיֹּלֵ֖ךְthat he may take
sheiyolekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 1:21saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:7
For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- 1 Timothy 6:7
Through
1 Timothy 6:7For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.
it leads to
- Job 1:21
saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 49:17
For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 12:20–21
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Ecclesiastes 5:15–16
As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
- Job 1:21
Through
Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
it leads to
- Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Job 27:8
Where this verse is studied
About Ecclesiastes

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
