{"id":9637,"date":"2026-03-17T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T22:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=9637"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:10:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:10:37","slug":"ecclesiastes-61-12-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=9637","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiastes 6:1-12"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup>A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor,\u00a0so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires;\u00a0yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This\u00a0is\u00a0vanity, and it\u00a0is\u00a0an evil affliction.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>If a man begets a hundred\u00a0children\u00a0and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or\u00a0indeed he has no burial, I say\u00a0that\u00a0a stillborn child\u00a0is better than he\u2014<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>Though it has not seen the sun or known\u00a0anything, this has more rest than that man,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

6\u00a0<\/sup>even if he lives a thousand years twice\u2014but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>All the labor of man\u00a0is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>For what more has the wise\u00a0man than the fool? <\/span>What does the poor man have, w<\/span>ho knows how to walk before the living<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>Better\u00a0is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire.\u00a0<\/span>This also\u00a0is\u00a0vanity and grasping for the wind.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>Whatever one is, he has been named already, f<\/span>or it is known that he is man; a<\/span>nd he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

11\u00a0<\/sup>Since there are many things that increase vanity, h<\/span>ow is\u00a0man the better?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

12\u00a0<\/sup>For who knows what\u00a0is\u00a0good for man in life, all the days of his\u00a0[f<\/a>]<\/sup>vain life which he passes like\u00a0a shadow?\u00a0Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

evil (v.1) = misfortune, injustice \u2014 not evil in a moral sense<\/h3>\n

riches, wealth, and honor (v.2) \u2014 said of Solomon in 2 Chronicles 1:11.<\/h3>\n

A man (v.2) may possess much earthly goods, and yet have neither the heart nor power to enjoy them. Possession and fruition are not necessarily joined together; and this is also among the vanities of life, and was and still is a very common evil among men. It belongs to God as much to give the power to enjoy, as it does to give earthly blessings. \u2014 Treasury, page 425<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Men … labor in the pursuit of wealth with such abandonment that they risk total failure in this life. The masses never rise above avarice; theirs is a grievous misery. For even though God allows them the acquisition of wealth and honor, He withholds from them the ability to enjoy their acquisitions. Surrounded by abundance, they are unable to enjoy even the smallest elements of the beauty that surrounds them. Their unrest is heightened as they view the evident satisfaction that others are able to derive from the fruits of their labor. Long life has always been viewed as a token of good fortune. However, for these men whose souls are destitute of enjoyment, long life is a curse. \u2014 KJV Commentary, pages 744-755.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

evil affliction (v.2) \u2014 This is a double tragedy. Not only is the man unable to enjoy his wealth and possessions which he has amassed, but a stranger, who did not work for it, is the one to enjoy all of it. \u2014 Grace, page 1174.<\/span><\/h3>\n

power to eat (v.2) \u2014 ability to enjoy<\/h3>\n

has no burial (v.3) \u2014 In the culture, not having a proper burial was considered a curse.<\/h3>\n

A large family (<\/span><\/span>Psalm<\/span> 127:3-5<\/span><\/a>) and a long life (v.3) were considered blessings from God (1 Kings 3:11). But even if a man had all that, if he did not enjoy life, he would be better off to have never been born. \u2014 Grace, page 1174.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

stillborn (v.3) \u2014 An “untimely birth” (born before the time) does not mean one born prematurely since the notion of time is not in the word. Rather the word refers to a … still-born child (miscarriage). \u2014 Grace, page 1174.<\/span><\/h3>\n

it (v.5) \u2014 the stillborn child<\/h3>\n

man (v.7) \u2014 all men, but specifically misers like the man in verses 3-6.<\/h3>\n

The “mouth” (v.7) speaks of man’s desire and the “appetite” is literally the soul. This verse is saying that the person who seeks to find satisfaction in things and wealth will never be satisfied or “filled.” The flesh is never satisfied\u2014it will always be “chasing after the wind.” Our soul will never be satisfied, and our spirit will never be at peace, until we rest in God. \u2014 Grace, page 1174.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The question in [verse 8] is “What advantage has a sensible man over a fool, and what advantage has a rightly living poor man over a miser? This is answered in verse 9 by the statement that what is before the eyes is better than what is vainly imagined by the mind. \u2014 Williams, page 443.<\/span><\/h3>\n

In other words (v.9), it is better to enjoy what you have than wish for what you don’t have.<\/h3>\n

In verse 10 the Preacher summarizes the rationale for the life he advocates by once again calling man’s attention to the sovereignty of God. The type of being man is, proclaims the Preacher, is fully revealed by the name that God has given him long ago. His name is “Adam,” and earthen men tend to be earthy. The Preacher has pointed out the folly in pursuing the earthy and has taught the way to lasting profit.. Men may wish to rebel against this instruction; but the opulent are, after all, only frail creatures, unable to contend with the Almighty. \u2014 KJV Commentary, page 745.<\/span><\/h3>\n

who can tell (v.12) \u2014 As it says in 3:21<\/span><\/a>, who can know what is really best for man during this life?<\/h3>\n

To name something (v.10) is to study or identify it. Man has already been studied and identified for who he is. \u2014 Grace, page 1175.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Man’s ignorance and limitation may be recognized by his impotence to procure for himself a life of satisfying contentment, and by his inability to tell what will take place in the world after he has left it. \u2014 Williams, page 444.<\/span><\/h3>\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

No man is able to discern what is to follow the situation in which he presently finds himself. The present, then, is filled with things that increase vanity, and the future is shrouded in deep shadows. In the presence of such uncertainty, who know what is good for man? \u2014 KJV Commentary, page 746.<\/span><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2\u00a0A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor,\u00a0so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires;\u00a0yet … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecclesiastes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9637"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9641,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9637\/revisions\/9641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}