Ecclesiastes 6
6
1Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, # Ec 5:13 and it weighs heavily on humanity: # Or it is common among men 2God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor # 1Kg 3:13 so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, # Ps 17:14; 73:7 but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy. 3A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, # Lit how many years if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, # Is 14:20; Jr 8:2; 22:19 I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. # Jb 3:16; Ec 4:3 4For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. 5Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he. 6And if he lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?
7All man’s labor is for his stomach, # Lit mouth # Pr 16:26
yet the appetite is never satisfied.
8What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? # Ec 2:15 What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. # Ec 11:9 This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. # Ec 1:14
10Whatever exists was given its name long ago, # Lit name already # Gn 2:19; Ec 1:9-10; 3:15 and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he. # Jb 9:32; Is 45:9 11For when there are many words, they increase futility. # Pr 10:19; Mt 6:7 What is the advantage for man? 12For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? # Ec 3:22 Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?
Currently Selected:
Ecclesiastes 6: HCSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 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?
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.