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Saturday, August 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Read the Bible

New Life Version

Ecclesiastes 2:22

For what does a man get from all his work and trouble under the sun?

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?
New Century Version
What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth?
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 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. For the work which had been done under the sun brought sorrow to me. Because everything is for nothing and is like trying to catch the wind. 18 I hated what came from all my work which I had done under the sun. For I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will rule over all that I have worked for by acting with wisdom under the sun. This also is for nothing. 20 So I was filled with sorrow for all I had worked for under the sun. 21 For here is a man who has worked with wisdom, much learning, and an able hand. Yet he must give this to one who has not worked for it. This also is for nothing, and very wrong. 22 For what does a man get from all his work and trouble under the sun? 23 For his work brings pain and sorrow all his days. Even during the night his mind does not rest. This also is for nothing. 24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and find joy in his work. I have seen that this also is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can find joy without Him? 26 For God has given wisdom and much learning and joy to the person who is good in God's eyes. But to the sinner He has given the work of gathering and getting many riches together to give to the one who pleases God. This also is for nothing, like trying to catch 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
The Lord God planted a garden to the east in Eden. He put the man there whom He had made.
Genesis 2:9
And the Lord God made to grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasing to the eyes and good for food. And He made the tree of life grow in the center of the garden, and the tree of learning of good and bad.
Genesis 2:19
Out of the ground the Lord God made every animal of the field and every bird of the sky. He brought them to the man to find out what he would call them. And whatever the man called a living thing, that was its name.
Psalms 127:1
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders work for nothing. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the men who watch over it stay awake for nothing.
Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and gets favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:14
House and riches are handed down from fathers, but an understanding wife is from the Lord.
1 Timothy 2:13
Adam was made first, then Eve.
Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be respected by everyone. God will punish those who do sex sins and are not faithful in marriage.

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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