Ecclesiastes 1:3

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

Additional Resources

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 5:16 : 16 Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.
  • Eccl 2:22 : 22 What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?
  • Eccl 3:9 : 9 What does the worker gain from all their toil?
  • Eccl 2:11 : 11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
  • Prov 23:4-5 : 4 Do not wear yourself out trying to become rich; stop relying on your own understanding. 5 Will you fix your eyes on wealth only for it to vanish? For it makes itself wings and flies away like an eagle toward the heavens.
  • Mark 8:36-37 : 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
  • John 6:27 : 27 'Do 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 set his seal of approval.'
  • Matt 16:26 : 26 For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
  • Eccl 2:19 : 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.
  • Eccl 4:3 : 3 But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
  • Eccl 5:18 : 18 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and enables them to enjoy it, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.
  • Eccl 6:12 : 12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?
  • Eccl 7:11 : 11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and it is an advantage for those who see the light of day.
  • Eccl 8:15-17 : 15 So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the work that is done on earth, even though people do not see sleep with their eyes day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.
  • Eccl 9:3 : 3 This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.
  • Eccl 9:6 : 6 Their love, their hatred, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
  • Eccl 9:13 : 13 I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
  • Isa 55:2 : 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of food.
  • Hab 2:13 : 13 Is it not from the LORD of Hosts that peoples labor for fire and nations grow weary for nothing?
  • Hab 2:18 : 18 What profit is an idol when its maker has carved it, or a cast image that teaches falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own creation to make worthless idols that cannot speak.
  • Eccl 4:7 : 7 Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 2:17-26
    10 verses
    89%

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    18I hated all my toil under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

    19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

    20So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

    23All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

    24There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

    25For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 3:9-10
    2 verses
    88%

    9What does the worker gain from all their toil?

    10I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

  • Eccl 2:10-12
    3 verses
    87%

    10Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts.

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

  • Eccl 1:1-2
    2 verses
    84%

    1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

    2“Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    84%

    13I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    82%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 5:15-16
    2 verses
    82%

    15This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain from all his labor for the wind?

    16Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    80%

    7Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

    8There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

  • Eccl 12:8
    80%

    8'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'

  • Eccl 3:22
    79%

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    78%

    3But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

    4And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:16
    78%

    16There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 1:8-9
    2 verses
    78%

    8All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

    9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

  • Eccl 8:17
    77%

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 6:7-8
    2 verses
    77%

    7All human toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.

    8What advantage has the wise person over the fool? What does the poor person gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?

  • Eccl 6:1
    77%

    1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

  • Eccl 3:19-20
    2 verses
    76%

    19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.

    20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

  • Eccl 1:4-5
    2 verses
    76%

    4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

    5The sun rises, and the sun sets, and it hurries back to where it rises.

  • Eccl 5:18
    76%

    18Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and enables them to enjoy it, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

  • Eccl 3:12
    75%

    12I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    75%

    9Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your portion in life and in your hard work under the sun.

    10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

  • Eccl 8:15
    75%

    15So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

  • Ps 39:6
    75%

    6Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely, every man is but a breath. Selah.

  • Eccl 2:1
    74%

    1I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

  • Eccl 11:8
    74%

    8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

  • Eccl 8:9
    74%

    9I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

  • Eccl 1:17
    74%

    17Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.