Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 6"

Ecclesiastes 6

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;

2 A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

3 If a man has a hundred children, and his life is long so that the days of his years are great in number, but his soul takes no pleasure in good, and he is not honoured at his death; I say that a birth before its time is better than he.

4 In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered.

5 Yes, it saw not the sun, and it had no knowledge; it is better with this than with the other.

6 And though he goes on living a thousand years twice over and does not see good, are not the two going to the same place?

7 All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food.

8 What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

9 What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

10 That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he.

11 There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?

12 Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

Good News Translation GNT

1 I have noticed that in this world a serious injustice is done.

2 God will give us wealth, honor, and property, yes, everything we want, but then will not let us enjoy it. Some stranger will enjoy it instead. It is useless, and it just isn't right.

3 We may have a hundred children and live a long time, but no matter how long we live, if we do not get our share of happiness and do not receive a decent burial, then I say that a baby born dead is better off.

4 It does that baby no good to be born; it disappears into darkness, where it is forgotten.

5 It never sees the light of day or knows what life is like, but at least it has found rest -

6 more so than the man who never enjoys life, though he may live two thousand years. After all, both of them are going to the same place.

7 We do all our work just to get something to eat, but we never have enough.

8 How are the wise better off than fools? What good does it do the poor to know how to face life?

9 It is useless; it is like chasing the wind. It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.

10 Everything that happens was already determined long ago, and we all know that you cannot argue with someone who is stronger than you.

11 The longer you argue, the more useless it is, and you are no better off.

12 How can anyone know what is best for us in this short, useless life of ours - a life that passes like a shadow? How can we know what will happen in the world after we die?