Ecclesiastes 3:9

9 What gain has the worker from his toil?

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 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain has the worker from his toil?
10 I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.