Ecclesiastes 6:2-1953 kjv — A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desiret…

“a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he: for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness; moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other: yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place? All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he. Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? ”

“a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease. If a man fathers a hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good, and moreover he has no burial; I say, that a stillborn child is better than he: for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other. Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails to enjoy good, don't all go to one place? All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind. Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he. For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man? For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?”

“God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor– instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years– even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity– even if he were to live forever– I would say,“A stillborn child is better off than he is!” Though the stillborn child came into the world for no reason and departed into darkness, though its name is shrouded in darkness, though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man– if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die! All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied! So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile– like chasing the wind. The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is. The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him? For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.”

“A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour, and his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth: yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up. This is vanity and a great misery. If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain to a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance, and he be without burial: of this man I pronounce, that the untimely born is better than he. For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten. He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil: Although he lived two thousand years, and hath not enjoyed good things: do not all make haste to one place? All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be filled. What hath the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go thither, where there is life? Better it is to see what thou mayst desire, than to desire that which thou canst not know. But this also is vanity, and presumption of spirit. He that shall be, his name is already called: and it is known, that he is a man, and cannot contend in judgment with him that is stronger than himself. There are many words that have much vanity in disputing. ”

“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. 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. In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered. Yes, it saw not the sun, and it had no knowledge; it is better with this than with the other. 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? All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food. What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living? What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind. That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he. There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them? 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?”

“A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? ”