Ecclesiastes 6:1

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it [is] common among men:

Ecclesiastes 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 6:1

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun
The Vulgate Latin version reads it, another evil; but wrongly, for the same is considered as before, the evil of covetousness; which is one of the evil things that come out of the heart of man; is abominable to the Lord, contrary to his nature and will, and a breach of his law, which forbids it, and is the root of all evil; this is an evil under the sun, for there is nothing of this kind above it; and it fell under the observation of Solomon in various instances; and it [is] common among men;
or, "great over men" F21; or "over the man", the covetous man: it spreads itself over them; few were free from it, even so long ago, in those early times, and in such times in which silver was made no account of, and was like stones in Jerusalem, as common as they; and yet the sin of covetousness, of hoarding up money and making no use of it, for a man's own good, and the good of others, was very rife among men, ( 1 Kings 10:27 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Mdah le ayh hbrw) "et multum ipsum super hominem", Montanus; "et magaum est illud super hominem istum", Rambachius.

Ecclesiastes 6:1 In-Context

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it [is] common among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it: this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
3 If a man begetteth a hundred [children], and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also [that] he hath no burial; I say, [that] an untimely birth [is] better than he.
4 For he cometh with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known [any thing]: this hath more rest than the other.
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