Ecclesiastes 6:1

1 Also another evil there is (There is also another evil), which I saw under the sun; and certainly it is oft used with 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 ) .

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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 Also another evil there is (There is also another evil), which I saw under the sun; and certainly it is oft used with men.

2 A man is, to whom God gave riches, and chattel, and honour; and nothing faileth to his soul of all things which he desireth; and God giveth not power to him, that he eat thereof, but a strange man shall devour it . This is vanity, and a great wretchedness. (There is a person, to whom God gave riches, and possessions, and honour; and he lacketh nothing of all the things which he desireth; but God giveth him not the power to enjoy those things, but a stranger shall enjoy them. This is empty and futile, and a great wretchedness.)

3 If a man engendereth an hundred free sons, and hath many days of age, and his soul useth not the goods of his chattel, and wanteth burying; I pronounce of this man, that a dead-born child is better than he. (Yea, if a man begetteth a hundred sons, and hath many years of age, and yet he is not able to enjoy the good things in his life, and at the last he even lacketh a proper burial, or a proper tomb; I declare of this man, that a still-born child is better than he.)

4 For he cometh in vain, and goeth to darknesses; and his name shall be done away by forgetting.

5 He saw not the sun, neither knew the diversity of good and of evil;