Ecclesiastes 6
New King James Version
Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life
6 There(A) is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, (B)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; (C)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil [a]affliction.
3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or (D)indeed he has no burial, I say that (E)a [b]stillborn child is better than he— 4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one (F)place?
7 (G)All the labor of man is for his mouth,
And yet the soul is not satisfied.
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is [c]the (H)sight of the eyes than the wandering of [d]desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
10 Whatever one is, he has been named (I)already,
For it is known that he is man;
(J)And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?
12 For who knows what is good for man in life, [e]all the days of his [f]vain life which he passes like (K)a shadow? (L)Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 6:2 disease
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 Or miscarriage
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 What the eyes see
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 Lit. soul
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 Lit. the number of the days
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 futile
Ecclesiastes 6
American Standard Version
6 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men: 2 a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3 If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he: 4 for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness; 5 moreover it hath not seen the sun [a]nor known it; [b]this hath rest rather than the other: 6 yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place? 7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? [c]or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. 10 [d]Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is known what [e]man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he. 11 Seeing there are many [f]things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, [g]all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 6:5 Or, neither had any knowledge
- Ecclesiastes 6:5 Or, it is better with this than with the other
- Ecclesiastes 6:8 Or, or the poor man that hath understanding, in walking before the living
- Ecclesiastes 6:10 Or, Whatsoever he be, his name was given him long ago, and it is known that he is man
- Ecclesiastes 6:10 Hebrew Adam. See Gen. 2:7.
- Ecclesiastes 6:11 Or, words
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 Hebrew the number of the days.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)