Ecclesiastes 6:3
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 6:3 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
King James Version · Public Domain“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:”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“If a man doth beget a hundred, and live many years, and is great, because they are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from the goodness, and also he hath not had a grave, I have said, `Better than he <FI>is<Fi> the untimely birth.'”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 6:3 — 22 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 33:5When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
- Genesis 47:9“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- 1 Samuel 2:20And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.
- 2 Kings 9:35But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.
- 2 Kings 10:1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying:
- 1 Chronicles 28:5And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 11:21Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
- Esther 5:11Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.
- Esther 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
- Esther 9:14So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.
- Job 3:11Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?
- Job 3:16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?
- Psalms 58:8Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.
- Psalms 127:4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.
- Proverbs 17:6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.
- Ecclesiastes 4:3But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 5:17Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.
- Isaiah 14:19But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot.
- Jeremiah 8:2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.
- Jeremiah 22:19He will be buried like a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 36:30Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by day and frost by night.
- Matthew 26:24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).