LEB ECC Chapter 6

Those Who Have Wealth but Do Not Enjoy It Are Pitiful

6 Here is another misfortune that I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among humankind. 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; yet God does not enable him to enjoy it—instead someone else ends up enjoying it. This is vanity—indeed, it is a grievous ill!

3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart[fn] is not satisfied with ⌊his prosperity⌋[fn] and ⌊he does not receive a proper burial⌋,[fn] I deem the stillborn better than him. 4 For he comes into vanity and departs into darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. 5 He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him. 6 Even if a man[fn] lives a thousand years twice, if he[fn] does not enjoy ⌊prosperity⌋,[fn] ⌊both suffer the same fate⌋![fn]

One Must Learn to Be Content with What One Has

• 7 All of a man’s toil is for his mouth—
  • yet his appetite is never satisfied.
• 8 So do the wise really have an advantage over fools?
  • Can the poor really gain anything by knowing how to act in front of others ?[fn]
• 9 Better to be content with what your eyes see
  • than for your soul to constantly crave more .[fn]
• This also is vanity and chasing wind!

It is Futile for Humans to Complain about God’s Irresistible Will

• 10 Whatever is—it was already determined,
  • what will be—it has already been decided .[fn]
• As for man, he cannot argue
  • against what is more powerful than him.
• 11 Increasing words only multiplies futility ,[fn]
  • how does that profit anyone?

The Future is Inscrutable to Humans

12 For who knows what is good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen ⌊in the future⌋[fn] under the sun?