Ecclesiastes 3:9

9 What hath a man more of his travail? (What more hath a person for all of his labour?)

Ecclesiastes 3:9 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 3:9

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 ) ( 2:11 ) ; 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.

Ecclesiastes 3:9 In-Context

7 Time to cut, and time to sew together; time to be still, and time to speak (time to be silent, and time to speak).
8 Time to love, and time of hatred; time of battle, and time of peace. (Time to love, and time to hate; time to fight, and time to make peace.)
9 What hath a man more of his travail? (What more hath a person for all of his labour?)
10 I saw the torment, which God gave to the sons of men, that they be occupied therein. (I saw the torment, which God gave to the sons and daughters of men, and with which they be occupied.)
11 God made all things good in their time, and gave the world to disputing of them, that a man find not (out) the work that God hath wrought from the beginning unto the end. (God made all things good in their time, and let the world dispute over them, but no one shall understand the work that God hath wrought from the beginning unto the end.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.