the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Brenton's Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 2:22
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For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
For what has a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?
What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth?
For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?
For what has a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
For what hath man of all his trauaile and griefe of his heart, wherein he hath trauailed vnder the sunne?
For what does a man get in all his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun?
For what does a man get for all the labor and endeavors at which he toils under the sun?
What do we really gain from all of our hard work?
For what does a person get from all his efforts and ambitions permeating the work he does under the sun?
For what will man have of all his labour and of the striving of his heart, wherewith he hath wearied himself under the sun?
What do people really have after all their work and struggling in this life?
For what profit shall a man have of all his labor and of the desire of his heart wherein he has labored under the sun?
You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it?
For what does a person receive for all his toil and in the longing of his heart with which he toils under the sun?
For what is there for man in all his labor, and in striving of his heart, which he did as a laborer under the sun?
For what getteth a ma of all ye labor & trauayle of his mynde, yt he taketh vnder the Sonne,
For what hath a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?
For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart wherein hee hath laboured vnder the Sunne?
For what getteth a man of all the labour and trauayle of his mynde that he taketh vnder the sunne?
For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?
For whi what schal it profite to a man of al his trauel, and turment of spirit, bi which he was turmentid vndur sunne?
For what has man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he labors under the sun?
For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath labored under the sun?
What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?
So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?
For what does a man get from all his work and trouble under the sun?
What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?
For what hath the man for all his toil, and for the striving of his heart, - wherein, he himself, toiled under the sun?
For what profit shall a man have of all his labour, and vexation of spirit, with which he hath been tormented under the sun?
What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun?
For what hath been to a man by all his labour, and by the thought of his heart that he laboured at under the sun?
For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
hath man: Ecclesiastes 1:3, Ecclesiastes 3:9, Ecclesiastes 5:10, Ecclesiastes 5:11, Ecclesiastes 5:17, Ecclesiastes 6:7, Ecclesiastes 6:8, Ecclesiastes 8:15, Proverbs 16:26, 1 Timothy 6:8
and of the: Ecclesiastes 4:6, Ecclesiastes 4:8, Psalms 127:2, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:25, Matthew 6:34, Matthew 16:26, Luke 12:22, Luke 12:29, Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:17 - in sorrow Job 5:7 - trouble Ecclesiastes 2:10 - my heart rejoiced Ecclesiastes 2:17 - for Ecclesiastes 5:16 - a sore Ecclesiastes 6:9 - this Matthew 11:28 - all
Cross-References
And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.
And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.
And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.
Except the Lord build the house, they that build labour in vain: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches in vain.
He that has found a good wife has found favours, and has received gladness from God. [He that puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing, and he that keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.]
Fathers divide house and substance to their children: but a wife is suited to a man by the Lord.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart?.... What profit has he by it, when there is so much vexation in it, both in getting it, and in the thought of leaving it to others? What advantage is it to him, when it is all acquired for and possessed by another; and especially of what use is it to him after his death? Even of all
wherein he hath laboured under the sun? the Targum adds, "in this world"; though he has been labouring all his days, yet there is not one thing he has got by his labour that is of any real advantage to him, or can yield him any solid comfort and satisfaction, or bring him true happiness, or lead him to it.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecclesiastes 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecclesiastes 2:14 which come on the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecclesiastes 2:16, uncertainty Ecclesiastes 2:19, disappointment Ecclesiastes 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) that accrues to man, is the pleasure felt Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 in receiving God’s gifts, and in working with and for them.
Ecclesiastes 2:12
What can the man do ... - i. e., “What is any man - in this study of wisdom and folly - after one like me, who, from my position, have had such special advantages (see Ecclesiastes 1:16, and compare Ecclesiastes 2:25) for carrying it on? That which man did of old he can but do again: he is not likely to add to the result of my researches, nor even to equal them.” Some hold that the “man” is a reference to Solomon’s successor - not in his inquiries, but in his kingdom, i. e., Jeroboam.
Ecclesiastes 2:14
Event - Or, “hap” Ruth 2:3. The verb from which it is derived seems in this book to refer especially to death. The word does not mean chance (compare Ecclesiastes 9:1-2), independent of the ordering of Divine Providence: the Gentile notion of “mere chance,” or “blind fate,” is never once contemplated by the writer of this book, and it would be inconsistent with his tenets of the unlimited power and activity of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:16
Seeing that ... - Compare Ecclesiastes 1:11. Some render, “as in time past, so in days to come, all will be forgotten;” others, “because in the days to come all will have been long before forgotten.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17
I hated life - Compare this expression, extorted from Solomon by the perception of the vanity of his wisdom and greatness, with Romans 8:22-23. The words of Moses Numbers 11:15, and of Job Job 3:21; Job 6:9, are scarcely less forcible. With some people, this feeling is a powerful motive to conversion Luke 14:26.
Ecclesiastes 2:19
Labour - Compare Ecclesiastes 2:4-8.
Ecclesiastes 2:20
I went about - i. e., I turned from one course of action to another.
Ecclesiastes 2:23
Are sorrows ... grief - Rather, sorrows and grief are his toil. See Ecclesiastes 1:13.
Ecclesiastes 2:24
Nothing better for a man, than that ... - literally, no good in man that etc. The one joy of working or receiving, which, though it be transitory, a man recognizes as a real good, even that is not in the power of man to secure for himself: that good is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:26
The doctrine of retribution, or, the revealed fact that God is the moral Governor of the world, is here stated for the first time (compare Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 3:17 ff) in this book.
This also is vanity - Not only the travail of the sinner. Even the best gifts of God, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, so far as they are given in this life, are not permanent, and are not always (see Ecclesiastes 9:11) efficacious for the purpose for which they appear to be given.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. For what hath man of all his laborer — Labour of body, disappointment of hope, and vexation of heart, have been all my portion.
