Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:14

English Standard Version

6 ^(A)There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: ²a man ^(B)to whom ^(C)God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he ^(D)lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God ^(E)does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;^[a] it is a grievous evil. ³If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that ^(F)the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's ^(G)good things, and he also has no ^(H)burial, I say that ^(I)a stillborn child is better off than he. ⁴For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. ⁵Moreover, it has not ^(J)seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds ^(K)rest rather than he. ⁶Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy^[b] no good—do not all go to the one place?

⁷^(L)All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.^[c] ⁸For what advantage has the wise man ^(M)over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? ⁹Better ^(N)is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is ^(O)vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁰Whatever has come to be has ^(P)already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to ^(Q)dispute with one stronger than he. ¹¹The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? ¹²For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his ^(R)vain^[d] life, which he passes like ^(S)a shadow? For who can tell man what will be ^(T)after him under the sun?

The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly

7 ^(U)A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and ^(V)the day of death than the day of birth.
²It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
    and the living will ^(W)lay it to heart.
³Sorrow is better than laughter,
    ^(X)for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
⁵It is ^(Y)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
    than to hear the song of fools.
⁶^(Z)For as the crackling of ^(AA)thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of the fools;
    this also is vanity.^[e]
⁷Surely ^(AB)oppression drives the wise into madness,
    and ^(AC)a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
    and ^(AD)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
⁹^(AE)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
    ^(AF)for anger lodges in the heart^[f] of fools.
¹⁰Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
    an advantage to those who ^(AG)see the sun.
¹²For the protection of wisdom is like ^(AH)the protection of money,
    and the advantage of knowledge is that ^(AI)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
¹³Consider ^(AJ)the work of God:
    ^(AK)who can make straight what he has made crooked?

¹⁴^(AL)In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, ^(AM)so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 6:2 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 4, 9, 11 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 6:6 Or see
Ecclesiastes 6:7 Hebrew filled
Ecclesiastes 6:12 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 7:6 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Hebrew in the bosom