Ecclesiastes 6
6
1I have seen something else wrong here on earth that causes serious problems for people. 2God gives great wealth, riches, and honor to some people; they have everything they want. But God does not let them enjoy such things; a stranger enjoys them instead. This is useless and very wrong. 3A man might have a hundred children and live a long time, but what good is it if he can’t enjoy the good God gives him or have a proper burial? I say a baby born dead is better off than he is. 4A baby born dead is useless. It returns to darkness without even a name. 5That baby never saw the sun and never knew anything, but it finds more rest than that man. 6Even if he lives two thousand years, he doesn’t enjoy the good God gives him. Everyone is going to the same place.
7People work just to feed themselves,
but they never seem to get enough to eat.
8In this way a wise person
is no better off than a fool.
Then, too, it does a poor person little good
to know how to get along in life.
9It is better to see what you have
than to want more.
Wanting more is useless—
like chasing the wind.
Who Can Understand God’s Plan?
10Whatever happens was planned long ago.
Everyone knows what people are like.
No one can argue with God,
who is stronger than anyone.
11The more you say,
the more useless it is.
What good does it do?
12People have only a few useless days of life on the earth; their short life passes like a shadow. Who knows what is best for them while they live? Who can tell them what the future will bring?
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 6
6
1I have seen something else unfair here on earth. It causes serious problems for people. 2God gives some people great wealth, riches and honor. They have everything they want. But God does not let them enjoy such things. Someone else enjoys them instead. This is unfair and senseless. 3It is sad when a person can’t enjoy the good things God gives him. Such a person might have 100 children. He might live a long time. But what good is it if he can’t enjoy the good God gives him? I say a baby who is born dead is better off than he is. 4It is useless for such a baby to be born. It ends up in the darkness of the grave without even a name. 5That baby never saw the sun. It never knew anything. But it finds more rest than the person who never gets to enjoy the good things God gives him. 6Even if he lives 2,000 years, it is sad if a person can’t enjoy the good things God gives him. After all, both he and the baby born dead go to the same place—the grave.
7A person works just to feed himself.
But he never seems to get enough to eat.
8In this way a wise man
is no better off than a foolish person.
Then, too, it does a poor man little good
to know how to get along in life.
9So it is better to be happy with what you have
than always to be wanting more.
Always wanting more is useless—
like chasing the wind.
Who Can Understand God’s Plan?
10Everything that happens was planned long ago.
A man is only what he was created to be.
It is useless to argue with God about it.
This is because God is more powerful than man is.
11The more you argue,
the more useless it is.
You gain nothing at all by arguing.
12A person has only a few days of life on the earth. His short life passes like a shadow. And who knows what is best for him while he lives? Who can tell him what will happen after his time on earth?
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