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the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Ecclesiastes 2:22

What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Industry;   Wisdom;   The Topic Concordance - Vanity;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Man;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Time;   Wisdom literature;   Work;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Winter ;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for October 24;   Every Day Light - Devotion for September 29;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
Hebrew Names Version
For what has a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
King James Version
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
English Standard Version
What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
New American Standard Bible
For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?
Amplified Bible
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?
World English Bible
For what has a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
Geneva Bible (1587)
For what hath man of all his trauaile and griefe of his heart, wherein he hath trauailed vnder the sunne?
Legacy Standard Bible
For what does a man get in all his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun?
Berean Standard Bible
For what does a man get for all the labor and endeavors at which he toils under the sun?
Contemporary English Version
What do we really gain from all of our hard work?
Complete Jewish Bible
For what does a person get from all his efforts and ambitions permeating the work he does under the sun?
Darby Translation
For what will man have of all his labour and of the striving of his heart, wherewith he hath wearied himself under the sun?
Easy-to-Read Version
What do people really have after all their work and struggling in this life?
George Lamsa Translation
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?
Good News Translation
You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it?
Lexham English Bible
For what does a person receive for all his toil and in the longing of his heart with which he toils under the sun?
Literal Translation
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?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For what getteth a ma of all ye labor & trauayle of his mynde, yt he taketh vnder the Sonne,
American Standard Version
For what hath a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
Bible in Basic English
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?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?
King James Version (1611)
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart wherein hee hath laboured vnder the Sunne?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For what getteth a man of all the labour and trauayle of his mynde that he taketh vnder the sunne?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For it happens to a man in all his labour, and in the purpose of his heart wherein he labours under the sun.
English Revised Version
For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For whi what schal it profite to a man of al his trauel, and turment of spirit, bi which he was turmentid vndur sunne?
Update Bible Version
For what has man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he labors under the sun?
Webster's Bible Translation
For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath labored under the sun?
New English Translation
What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
New King James Version
For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?
New Living Translation
So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?
New Life Bible
For what does a man get from all his work and trouble under the sun?
New Revised Standard
What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For what hath the man for all his toil, and for the striving of his heart, - wherein, he himself, toiled under the sun?
Douay-Rheims Bible
For what profit shall a man have of all his labour, and vexation of spirit, with which he hath been tormented under the sun?
Revised Standard Version
What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun?
Young's Literal Translation
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?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

Contextual Overview

17 So I hated life. It made me sad to think that everything here on earth is useless, like chasing the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had worked for here on earth, because I must leave them to someone who will live after me. 19 Someone else will control everything for which I worked so hard here on earth, and I don't know if he will be wise or foolish. This is also useless. 20 So I became sad about all the hard work I had done here on earth. 21 People can work hard using all their wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but they will die, and other people will get the things for which they worked. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. This is also unfair and useless. 22 What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth? 23 All of their lives their work is full of pain and sorrow, and even at night their minds don't rest. This is also useless. 24 The best that people can do is eat, drink, and enjoy their work. I saw that even this comes from God, 25 because no one can eat or enjoy life without him. 26 If people please God, God will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But sinners will get only the work of gathering and storing wealth that they will have to give to the ones who please God. So all their work is useless, like chasing the wind.

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

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in a place called Eden, and put the man he had formed into it.
Genesis 2:9
The Lord God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life and also the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:19
From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky, and he brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name.
Psalms 127:1

A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.

If the Lord doesn't build the house, the builders are working for nothing. If the Lord doesn't guard the city, the guards are watching for nothing.
Proverbs 18:22
When a man finds a wife, he finds something good. It shows that the Lord is pleased with him.
Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a wise wife is a gift from the Lord .
1 Timothy 2:13
because Adam was formed first and then Eve.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins.

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 laborerLabour of body, disappointment of hope, and vexation of heart, have been all my portion.


 
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