1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: 2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction. 3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. 5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? 7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. 8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 10 Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he. 11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes · Berean Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 6 Berean Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (12)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ecclesiastes 5:13
- 2 Ecclesiastes 5:19; Psalm 17:14; Psalm 73:7; Lamentations 5:2; 1 Kings 3:13
- 3 Job 3:16; Ecclesiastes 4:3; 2 Kings 9:35; Jeremiah 22:19; Genesis 47:9
- 4 Psalm 109:13
- 5 Psalm 90:7–9; Job 14:1; Psalm 58:8; Job 3:10–13
- 6 Ecclesiastes 3:20; Hebrews 9:27; Job 30:23; Job 1:21; Job 7:7
- 7 John 6:27; Proverbs 16:26; 1 Timothy 6:6–8; Matthew 6:25; Ecclesiastes 5:10
- 8 Proverbs 19:1; Ecclesiastes 2:14–16; Psalm 116:9; Psalm 101:2; Ecclesiastes 5:11
- 9 Ecclesiastes 1:14; Job 31:7; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Ecclesiastes 2:11
- 10 Job 9:32; Isaiah 45:9–10; Job 40:2; Romans 9:19–20; Genesis 3:17–19
- 11 Ecclesiastes 4:16; Ecclesiastes 5:7; Hosea 12:1; Ecclesiastes 2:3–11; Ecclesiastes 4:1–4
- 12 James 4:14; Job 14:2; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Psalm 144:4; Lamentations 3:24–27
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences