Ecclesiastes 5:16
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 5:16 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?”
King James Version · Public Domain“And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“And this also <FI>is<Fi> a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage <FI>is<Fi> to him who laboureth for wind?”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 5:16 — 10 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 Samuel 12:21Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.
- Proverbs 11:29He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 2:22For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
- Isaiah 26:18We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.
- Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
- Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
- Mark 8:36What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- John 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).