Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible
New Life Version
Ecclesiastes 3:9
What does the worker get for his work?
Jump to:Bible Study Tools • Parallel Bible Verse • Bible Contextual Overview • Bible Cross-References • Gill's Bible Notes • Clarke's Bible Notes
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- TheDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- EveryParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
What does the worker gain from his struggles?
What does the worker gain from his struggles?
Hebrew Names Version
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
King James Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
English Standard Version
What gain has the worker from his toil?
What gain has the worker from his toil?
New American Standard Bible
What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
New Century Version
Do people really gain anything from their work?
Do people really gain anything from their work?
Amplified Bible
What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
World English Bible
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
Geneva Bible (1587)
What profite hath hee that worketh of the thing wherein he trauaileth?
What profite hath hee that worketh of the thing wherein he trauaileth?
Legacy Standard Bible
What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?
What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?
Berean Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his toil?
What does the worker gain from his toil?
Contemporary English Version
What do we gain by all of our hard work?
What do we gain by all of our hard work?
Complete Jewish Bible
What does the worker gain from his efforts?
What does the worker gain from his efforts?
Darby Translation
What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?
What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?
Easy-to-Read Version
Do people really gain anything from their hard work?
Do people really gain anything from their hard work?
George Lamsa Translation
What profit has the worker in his labor?
What profit has the worker in his labor?
Good News Translation
What do we gain from all our work?
What do we gain from all our work?
Lexham English Bible
What does the worker gain in his toil?
What does the worker gain in his toil?
Literal Translation
What advantage has he who works in that which he did as a laborer?
What advantage has he who works in that which he did as a laborer?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What hath a ma els (that doth eny thinge) but weerynesse and laboure?
What hath a ma els (that doth eny thinge) but weerynesse and laboure?
American Standard Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
Bible in Basic English
What profit has the worker in the work which he does?
What profit has the worker in the work which he does?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth?
What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth?
King James Version (1611)
What profite hath hee that worketh, in that wherein he laboureth?
What profite hath hee that worketh, in that wherein he laboureth?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
What hath a man els that doth any thyng, but weerinesse and labour?
What hath a man els that doth any thyng, but weerinesse and labour?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
What advantage has he that works in those things wherein he labours?
What advantage has he that works in those things wherein he labours?
English Revised Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What hath a man more of his trauel?
What hath a man more of his trauel?
Update Bible Version
What profit has he that works in that wherein he labors?
What profit has he that works in that wherein he labors?
Webster's Bible Translation
What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth?
What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth?
New English Translation
What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
New King James Version
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
New Living Translation
What do people really get for all their hard work?
What do people really get for all their hard work?
New Revised Standard
What gain have the workers from their toil?
What gain have the workers from their toil?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein, himself, hath toiled?
What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein, himself, hath toiled?
Douay-Rheims Bible
What hath man more of his labour?
What hath man more of his labour?
Revised Standard Version
What gain has the worker from his toil?
What gain has the worker from his toil?
Young's Literal Translation
What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?
What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?
THE MESSAGE
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
Contextual Overview
1 There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under heaven. 2 There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pick what is planted. 3 There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. 4 There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance. 5 There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing. 6 There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away. 7 There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak. 8 There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker get for his work? 10 I have seen the work which God has given the sons of men to do.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Ecclesiastes 1:3, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:22, Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 5:16, Proverbs 14:23, Matthew 16:26
Cross-References
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."
The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The snake fooled me, and I ate."
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The snake fooled me, and I ate."
Genesis 3:17
Then He said to Adam, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I told you, "Do not eat from it," the ground is cursed because of you. By hard work you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
Then He said to Adam, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I told you, "Do not eat from it," the ground is cursed because of you. By hard work you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:19
You will eat bread by the sweat of your face because of hard work, until you return to the ground, because you were taken from the ground. You are dust, and you will return to dust."
You will eat bread by the sweat of your face because of hard work, until you return to the ground, because you were taken from the ground. You are dust, and you will return to dust."
Genesis 3:20
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:21
And the Lord God made clothes of skins for Adam and his wife, and dressed them.
And the Lord God made clothes of skins for Adam and his wife, and dressed them.
Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
Genesis 11:5
Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.
Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.
Genesis 16:8
He said, "Hagar, you who serve Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am running away from Sarai, the one I serve."
He said, "Hagar, you who serve Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am running away from Sarai, the one I serve."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?] That is, he has none. This is an inference drawn from the above premises, and confirms what has been before observed, Ecclesiastes 1:3; Man has no profit of his labour, since his time is so short to enjoy it, and he leaves it to another, he knows not who; and, while he lives, is attended with continual vicissitudes and changes; sometimes it is a time for one thing, and sometimes for its contrary, so that there is nothing certain, and to be depended on; and a man can promise himself nothing in this world pleasant or profitable to him, and much less that will be of any advantage to him hereafter. The Targum adds,
"to make treasures and gather mammon, unless he is helped by Providence above;''
though it is man's duty to labour, yet all his toil and labour will be fruitless without a divine blessing; there is a time and season for everything in providence, and there is no striving against that.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ecclesiastes 3:9. What profit hath he — What real good, what solid pleasure, is derived from all the labours of man? Necessity drives him to the principal part of his cares and toils; he labours that he may eat and drink; and he eats and drinks that he may be preserved alive, and kept from sickness and pain. Love of money, the basest of all passions, and restless ambition, drive men to many labours and expedients, which perplex and often destroy them. He, then, who lives without God, travails in pain all his days.
