Ecclesiastes 6:1-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Frustration of Desires
6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind:(A) 2 those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill.(B) 3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.(C) 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; 5 moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?
7 All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied.(D) 8 For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living?(E) 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.(F)
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Ecclesiastes 6:1-9
Evangelical Heritage Version
6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, a common burden that people bear:[a] 2 God gives somebody wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of everything that he craves, but God does not give him the opportunity to eat it. Instead, a stranger eats it. This is vapor, and a sickening evil.
3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but if his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, no matter how many days he lives, I say, “A stillborn baby is better off than he is.” 4 Why? Because that baby comes like a vapor and leaves in darkness, and its name gets covered in darkness. 5 The baby does not see the sun or know it,[b] but it enjoys more peaceful rest than that man does, 6 even if that man would live a thousand years two times without enjoying good things. They all go to the same place, don’t they?
7 All of a man’s hard work is to feed his mouth, but his appetite[c] never feels satisfied.
8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? What advantage does a poor man gain, who knows how to keep walking among the living?[d] 9 Better to have eyes that look at what is actually there than desires that roam. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Ecclesiastes 6:1 Or a burden which weighs heavily on people
- Ecclesiastes 6:5 Or know anything
- Ecclesiastes 6:7 Or his soul
- Ecclesiastes 6:8 Or how to survive among the living
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.