Ecclesiastes 6 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life

6 There(A) is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, (B)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; (C)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil [a]affliction.

3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or (D)indeed he has no burial, I say that (E)a [b]stillborn child is better than he— 4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one (F)place?

7 (G)All the labor of man is for his mouth,
And yet the soul is not satisfied.
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is [c]the (H)sight of the eyes than the wandering of [d]desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

10 Whatever one is, he has been named (I)already,
For it is known that he is man;
(J)And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?

12 For who knows what is good for man in life, [e]all the days of his [f]vain life which he passes like (K)a shadow? (L)Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 6:2 disease
  2. Ecclesiastes 6:3 Or miscarriage
  3. Ecclesiastes 6:9 What the eyes see
  4. Ecclesiastes 6:9 Lit. soul
  5. Ecclesiastes 6:12 Lit. the number of the days
  6. Ecclesiastes 6:12 futile

Cross references

  1. Ecclesiastes 6:1 : Eccl. 5:13
  2. Ecclesiastes 6:2 : Job 21:10; Ps. 17:14; 73:7
  3. Ecclesiastes 6:2 : Luke 12:20
  4. Ecclesiastes 6:3 : 2 Kin. 9:35; Is. 14:19, 20; Jer. 22:19
  5. Ecclesiastes 6:3 : Job 3:16; Ps. 58:8; Eccl. 4:3
  6. Ecclesiastes 6:6 : Eccl. 2:14, 15
  7. Ecclesiastes 6:7 : Prov. 16:26
  8. Ecclesiastes 6:9 : Eccl. 11:9
  9. Ecclesiastes 6:10 : Eccl. 1:9; 3:15
  10. Ecclesiastes 6:10 : Job 9:32; Is. 45:9; Jer. 49:19
  11. Ecclesiastes 6:12 : Ps. 102:11; James 4:14
  12. Ecclesiastes 6:12 : Ps. 39:6; Eccl. 3:22

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6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it [is] great on man: 2 A man to whom God giveth wealth, and riches, and honour, and there is no lack to his soul of all that he desireth, and God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it; this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

6 Also another evil there is (There is also another evil), which I saw under the sun; and certainly it is oft used with men. 2 A man is, to whom God gave riches, and chattel, and honour; and nothing faileth to his soul of all things which he desireth; and God giveth not power to him, that he eat the...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - World English Bible (WEB)

6 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on men: 2 a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3 ...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - The Voice (VOICE)

6 Teacher: I have seen another injustice under the sun, one that is a real burden upon humanity. 2 Sometimes God gives money, possessions, and even honor, so that we have everything a person might desire; nothing is lacking. But then, for reasons God only knows, God does not allow him to enjoy the ...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Futility of Living Without God6 There is a misery that I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon humanity. 2 God gives a man riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to eat from it—instead a foreigner will eat it. This is fruitless...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Frustration of Desires6 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon men: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them; this is van...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Frustration of Desires6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind: 2 those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honour, 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...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Frustration of Desires6 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...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New Living Translation (NLT)

6 There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. 2 God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up en...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New Life Version (NLV)

6 There is another bad thing which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard for men: 2 God gives a man riches and many good things and honor, so that he has everything he wants. But He does not allow him to have joy from them, for a stranger has joy from them. This is for nothing, and is very bad....
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life6 There(A) is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, (B)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; (C)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner con...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

6 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honour, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New International Version (NIV)

6 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them,(A) and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievou...
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6 I’ve seen another evil thing on this earth. And it’s a heavy load on human beings. 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor. They have everything their hearts desire. But God doesn’t let them enjoy those things. Instead, strangers enjoy them. This doesn’t have any meaning. It’s a ver...
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Ecclesiastes 6 - New English Translation (NET)

Not Everyone Enjoys Life6 Here is[a] another misfortune[b] that I have seen on earth,[c]and it weighs heavily[d] on people:[e]2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealthso that he lacks nothing that his heart[f] desires,[g]yet God does not enable[h] him to enjoy[i] the fruit of his labor[j]—inste...
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