Ecclesiastes 6

¹ There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on men:

² 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.

³ 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;

⁴ for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

⁵ Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other.

⁶ Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails to enjoy good, don’t all go to one place?

⁷ All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

⁸ For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?

⁹ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man?

¹² 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?

Around Ecclesiastes 6

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Ecclesiastes as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

A king sits in Jerusalem and counts what everything is worth. He watches the sun rise and go down, the wind turn, the rivers run into a sea that is never full, and one generation go while another comes. Then he gives his verdict: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

He is the Teacher, and his book records his reflections. He examines work, pleasure, wealth and wisdom and finds that none of them lasts or satisfies. He calls it “a chasing after wind”. His repeated word is often translated vanity; it pictures a breath or a vapor.

Alongside that hard look, the book keeps returning to simple gifts: food, work and companionship received from God's hand. It closes with a call to fear God and keep his commandments.

Background

The Teacher is introduced as a son of David and king in Jerusalem, and tradition identifies him with Solomon. Many scholars think the Hebrew of the book points to a later date. A narrator frames the Teacher's words at the beginning and the end.

How Christians read it

Readers differ on the Teacher's tone. Some hear a skeptic whose view the closing verses correct. Others hear a realist who shows honestly what life looks like when it is measured only by what can be seen. Christians often read the book as clearing the ground: it exposes what cannot bear the weight of a life, and so points beyond itself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes