Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 6"

Ecclesiastes 6

New Living Translation NLT

1 There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity.

2 God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.

3 A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.

4 His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name,

5 and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man.

6 He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?

7 All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.

8 So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?

9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

10 Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?

12 In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on people:

2 the case in which God gives someone riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing that he wants; but God does not give him the power to enjoy them, and some stranger gets to enjoy them - this is meaningless, evil, sick.

3 Suppose a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that he has a long life, but he fails to enjoy himself; then, even if he were to [live indefinitely and therefore] never be buried, I say that it would be better to be born dead.

4 For the arrival of a stillborn baby is a futile thing, and its departure is in darkness; its name is [forgotten,] covered in darkness;

5 and although it has never seen or known the sun, it is more content than he is,

6 without enjoying himself, even if he were to live a thousand years twice over. Doesn't everyone go to the same place?

7 The purpose of all toil is to fill the mouth, yet the appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage has the wise over the fool, or the person with experience, if he is poor?

9 Better what the eyes can see than meandering desire. Yet this too is pointless and feeding on wind.

10 Whatever he is, he was named long ago, and it is known that he is merely human; moreover, he cannot defeat what is mightier than he [death].

11 There are many things that only add to futility, so how do humans benefit from them?

12 For who knows what is good for someone during life, during the days of his pointless life spent like a shadow? Who can tell what will happen under the sun after a person is gone?