Ecclesiastes 6:11

THE MESSAGE

The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what's best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for mankind?

Hebrew Names Version
For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man?

King James Version
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

English Standard Version
The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?

New American Standard Bible
For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a person?

New Century Version
The more you say, the more useless it is. What good does it do?

Amplified Bible
For there are many other words that increase futility. What then is the advantage for a man?

World English Bible
For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Svrely there be many things that increase vanitie: and what auaileth it man?

Legacy Standard Bible
For there are many words which increase vanity. What then is the advantage to a man?

Berean Standard Bible
For the more words, the more futility-and how does that profit anyone?

Contemporary English Version
The more we talk, the less sense we make, so what good does it do to talk?

Complete Jewish Bible
There are many things that only add to futility, so how do humans benefit from them?

Darby Translation
For there are many things that increase vanity: what is man advantaged?

George Lamsa Translation
Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what advantage has man?

Good News Translation
The longer you argue, the more useless it is, and you are no better off.

Lexham English Bible
Increasing words only multiplies futility, how does that profit anyone?

Literal Translation
For there are many things that increase vanity, and what is the advantage to man?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A vayne thinge is it to cast out many wordes, but what hath a man els?

American Standard Version
Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

Bible in Basic English
There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Seeing there are many words that increase vanity, what is man the better?

King James Version (1611)
Seeing there be many things that increase vanitie, what is man the better?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Many thinges there be that encrease vanitie, and what hath a man els?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For there are many things which increase vanity.

English Revised Version
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wordis ben ful manye, and han myche vanyte in dispuytinge.

Update Bible Version
Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is the advantage to man?

Webster's Bible Translation
Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what [is] man the better?

New English Translation
The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

New King James Version
Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?

New Living Translation
The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?

New Life Bible
The more words there are, the more they are worth nothing. What good is that to anyone?

New Revised Standard
The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?

Douay-Rheims Bible
There are many words that have much vanity in disputing.

Revised Standard Version
The more words, the more vanity, and what is man the better?

Young's Literal Translation
For there are many things multiplying vanity; what advantage [is] to man?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?

Contextual Overview

¹¹The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what's best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ecclesiastes 1:6-9, Ecclesiastes 1:17, Ecclesiastes 1:18, Ecclesiastes 2:3-11, Ecclesiastes 3:19, Ecclesiastes 4:1-4, Ecclesiastes 4:8, Ecclesiastes 4:16, Ecclesiastes 5:7, Psalms 73:6, Hosea 12:1

Reciprocal: Job 7:16 - my days Psalms 39:6 - surely Ecclesiastes 1:2 - General Ecclesiastes 4:4 - This is Ecclesiastes 11:8 - All that Luke 10:41 - many Romans 3:1 - advantage 1 Corinthians 15:19 - this

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.

Genesis 7:1
Next God said to Noah, "Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you're the righteous one.

Genesis 13:13
The people of Sodom were evil—flagrant sinners against God .

Psalms 55:9
Come down hard, Lord—slit their tongues. I'm appalled how they've split the city Into rival gangs prowling the alleys Day and night spoiling for a fight, trash piled in the streets, Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating in broad daylight.

Ezekiel 8:17
He said, "Have you seen enough, son of man? Isn't it bad enough that Judah engages in these outrageous obscenities? They fill the country with violence and now provoke me even further with their obscene gestures. That's it. They have an angry God on their hands! From now on, no mercy. They can shout all they want, but I'm not listening."

Ezekiel 28:16
The Money Has Gone to Your Head God's Message came to me, "Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what God , the Master, says: "‘Your heart is proud, going around saying, "I'm a god. I sit on God's divine throne, ruling the sea"— You, a mere mortal, not even close to being a god, A mere mortal trying to be a god. Look, you think you're smarter than Daniel. No enigmas can stump you. Your sharp intelligence made you world-wealthy. You piled up gold and silver in your banks. You used your head well, worked good deals, made a lot of money. But the money has gone to your head, swelled your head—what a big head! "‘Therefore, God , the Master, says: "‘Because you're acting like a god, pretending to be a god, I'm giving fair warning: I'm bringing strangers down on you, the most vicious of all nations. They'll pull their swords and make hash of your reputation for knowing it all. They'll puncture the balloon of your god-pretensions. They'll bring you down from your self-made pedestal and bury you in the deep blue sea. Will you protest to your assassins, "You can't do that! I'm a god"? To them you're a mere mortal. They're killing a man, not a god. You'll die like a stray dog, killed by strangers— Because I said so. Decree of God , the Master.'" God 's Message came to me: "Son of man, raise a funeral song over the king of Tyre. Tell him, A Message from God , the Master: "You had everything going for you. You were in Eden, God's garden. You were dressed in splendor, your robe studded with jewels: Carnelian, peridot, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald, all in settings of engraved gold. A robe was prepared for you the same day you were created. You were the anointed cherub. I placed you on the mountain of God. You strolled in magnificence among the stones of fire. From the day of your creation you were sheer perfection... and then imperfection—evil!—was detected in you. In much buying and selling you turned violent, you sinned! I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God. I threw you out—you, the anointed angel-cherub. No more strolling among the gems of fire for you! Your beauty went to your head. You corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame. I threw you to the ground, sent you sprawling before an audience of kings and let them gloat over your demise. By sin after sin after sin, by your corrupt ways of doing business, you defiled your holy places of worship. So I set a fire around and within you. It burned you up. I reduced you to ashes. All anyone sees now when they look for you is ashes, a pitiful mound of ashes. All who once knew you now throw up their hands: ‘This can't have happened! This has happened!'" God 's Message came to me: "Son of man, confront Sidon. Preach against it. Say, ‘Message from God , the Master: "‘Look! I'm against you, Sidon. I intend to be known for who I truly am among you.' They'll know that I am God when I set things right and reveal my holy presence. I'll order an epidemic of disease there, along with murder and mayhem in the streets. People will drop dead right and left, as war presses in from every side. Then they'll realize that I mean business, that I am God . "No longer will Israel have to put up with their thistle-and-thorn neighbors Who have treated them so contemptuously. And they also will realize that I am God ." God , the Master, says, "When I gather Israel from the peoples among whom they've been scattered and put my holiness on display among them with all the nations looking on, then they'll live in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. They'll live there in safety. They'll build houses. They'll plant vineyards, living in safety. Meanwhile, I'll bring judgment on all the neighbors who have treated them with such contempt. And they'll realize that I am God ."

Habakkuk 2:8
class="poetry"> What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I'll wait to see what God says, how he'll answer my complaint. And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time. "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance— full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive. "Note well: Money deceives. The arrogant rich don't last. They are more hungry for wealth than the grave is for cadavers. Like death, they always want more, but the ‘more' they get is dead bodies. They are cemeteries filled with dead nations, graveyards filled with corpses. Don't give people like this a second thought. Soon the whole world will be taunting them: "‘Who do you think you are— getting rich by stealing and extortion? How long do you think you can get away with this?' Indeed, how long before your victims wake up, stand up and make you the victim? You've plundered nation after nation. Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine. All the survivors are out to plunder you, a payback for all your murders and massacres.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Seeing there be many things that increase vanity,.... As appears by all that has been said in this and the preceding chapters; such as wisdom and knowledge, wealth and riches, pleasure, power, and authority. Man is a poor vain creature himself, all he is and has is vanity; and these serve but to increase it, and make him vainer and vainer still;

what [is] man the better? for these things? not at all, rather the worse, being more vain; there is no profit by them, no excellency arises to him from them, no happiness in them, nothing that will be of any service to him, especially with respect to a future state, or when he comes to die. It may be rendered, as it is in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "seeing there are many words that multiply vanity"; as all such words do that are used with God by way of murmur and complaint concerning a man's lot and condition in this world, and as expostulating and contending with him about it; these increase sin, and by them men contract more guilt, and therefore are not the better for such litigations, but the worse; and so the words stand in connection with Ecclesiastes 6:10: but the former sense seems best, this being the conclusion of the wise man's discourse concerning vanity. So the Targum and Jarchi understand it of things, and not words.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Things - Namely, the various circumstances detailed in the foregoing chapters, from the Preacher’s personal experience, and his observation of other people, ending with the comprehensive declaration in Ecclesiastes 6:10 to the effect that vanity is an essential part of the constitution of creation as it now exists, and was foreknown.

What is man the better? - Rather, what is profitable to man?