the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Bahasa Indonesia Sehari-hari
Pengkhotbah 6:12
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12 For who [ [fn] limited to human wisdom] knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow [going through the motions but accomplishing nothing]? For who can tell a man what will happen [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun after he is gone?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
who knoweth: Ecclesiastes 2:3, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Psalms 4:6, Psalms 16:5, Psalms 17:15, Psalms 47:4, Lamentations 3:24-27, Micah 6:8
the days of his vain life: Heb. the number of the days of the life of his vanity, Ecclesiastes 8:13, Ecclesiastes 9:6, 1 Chronicles 29:15, Job 8:9, Job 14:2, Psalms 39:5, Psalms 39:6, Psalms 89:47, Psalms 90:10-12, Psalms 102:11, Psalms 109:23, Psalms 144:4, James 4:14
for who can: Ecclesiastes 3:22, Ecclesiastes 8:7, Job 14:21
Reciprocal: Job 7:16 - my days Job 17:7 - shadow Ecclesiastes 1:3 - under Ecclesiastes 1:4 - One generation Ecclesiastes 7:15 - have I Ecclesiastes 9:9 - all the days of the life Ecclesiastes 10:14 - a man Ecclesiastes 12:8 - General Luke 8:42 - and she 1 Corinthians 7:29 - the time
Cross-References
And it came to passe, that when men began to be multiplied in the vpper face of the earth, there were daughters borne vnto the:
And the sonnes of God also sawe the daughters of men that they were fayre, & they toke them wyues, such as theyliked, from among them all.
And the Lorde sayde: My spirite shall not alwayes stryue with man, because he is fleshe: yet his dayes shalbe an hundreth and twentie yeres.
But there were Giantes in those dayes in ye earth: yea & after that the sonnes of God came vnto the daughters of me, and hadde begotten chyldren of them, the same became myghtie men of the worlde, and men of renowme.
But God sawe that the malice of man was great in the earth, and all the imagination of the thoughtes of his heart [was] only euyll euery day.
But Noah founde grace in the eyes of the Lorde.
And God sayd vnto Noah: the ende of all fleshe is come before me, for the earth is fylled with crueltie through them, and beholde I wyl destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an Arke of Pine trees: Habitations shalt thou make in the arke, and shalt pitch it within and with out with pitche.
And of this fashion shalt thou make it: The length of the arke [shalbe] three hundreth cubites, the breadth of it fiftie cubites, & the height of it thirtie cubites.
A wyndowe shalt thou make in the arke, and in a cubite shalt thou finishe it aboue: but the doore of the arke shalt thou set in the syde therof. With three loftes one aboue another shalt thou make it.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For who knoweth what [is] good for man in [this] life?.... To be in a higher or lower station of life, to live in grandeur or meanness, to be rich or poor, learned or unlearned; since that which seems most agreeable to human nature is at, ended with so much vanity, the occasion of so much sin, and often issues in ruin and misery, that no man knows what is best for him; and therefore it is the wisest way to be content with what a man has, and enjoy it in the most comfortable manner, and use it to the best ends and purposes he can. The Targum is,
"for who is he that knows what is good for a man in this world, but to study in the law, which is the life of the world?''
so the Midrash,
all the days of his vain life, which he spendeth as a shadow? or "the number of the days of vain life, which he makes as a shadow" d; that is, which God makes as a "shadow", as Cocceius observes; makes to pass away swiftly: this is a description of the vanity, brevity, and uncertainty of human life; it consists of days, rather than of months and years; and those such as are easily numbered, and which pass away suddenly and swiftly, like a shadow that has no substance and reality in it, and leaves nothing behind it; or like a bird that flies away, as Jarchi, and is seen no more; such is the life of man, a most vain life, vanity itself; so it may be rendered, "the number of the days of the life of his vanity" e; since therefore he has so short a time to enjoy anything in, it is hard to say what is best for him to have, and the rather since he is quite ignorant of what is to come;
for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? he does not know himself, nor can any man inform him, what will become of his wealth and riches after his death, which he has got together; who shall enjoy them, and how long and what use will be made of them, either to their own good, or the good of others.
d ויעשם כצל "et facit eos at umbram", Cocceius. e מספר ימי חיי הבלו "numero dierum vitae", ("vitarum", Montanus), "vanitatis suae", Pagninus, Rambachius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
After him - i. e., On earth, in his own present sphere of action, after his departure hence (compare Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 3:22).
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ecclesiastes 6:12. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life — Those things which we deem good are often evil. And those which we think evil are often good. So ignorant are we, that we run the greatest hazard in making a choice. It is better to leave ourselves and our concerns in the hands of the Lord, than to keep them in our own.
For who can tell a man what shall be after him — Futurity is with God. While he lives, man wishes to know what is before him. When he is about to die, he wishes to know what will be after him. All this is vanity; God, because he is merciful, will reveal neither.
