Ecclesiastes 3:9

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

What does the worker gain from all their toil?

Additional Resources

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 1:3 : 3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
  • 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.
  • Eccl 5:16 : 16 Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.
  • 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?
  • Prov 14:23 : 23 In all hard work there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
  • Eccl 2:22-23 : 22 What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun? 23 All 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.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 1:3
    88%

    3What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 3:10-13
    4 verses
    83%

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

    11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

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

    13And also that every person should eat, drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

  • Eccl 2:17-26
    10 verses
    83%

    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 2:10-11
    2 verses
    81%

    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.

  • Eccl 5:15-16
    2 verses
    79%

    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 3:22
    78%

    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 4:6-8
    3 verses
    77%

    6Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

    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!

  • Job 34:9
    77%

    9For he has said, 'A man gains nothing by delighting in God.'

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    76%

    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 1:13-14
    2 verses
    75%

    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 3:8
    75%

    8A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

  • 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 6:7-8
    2 verses
    75%

    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 6:11-12
    2 verses
    75%

    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 3:6
    75%

    6A time to search and a time to give up; a time to keep and a time to throw away.

  • 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 3:1-2
    2 verses
    74%

    1There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.

    2A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

  • Prov 14:23
    74%

    23In all hard work there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

  • Eccl 5:18-19
    2 verses
    74%

    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.

    19For they seldom reflect on the days of their life because God keeps them occupied with joy in their hearts.

  • Eccl 8:17
    73%

    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 9:1
    73%

    1So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

  • Prov 16:26
    73%

    26The laborer’s appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.

  • Eccl 5:9
    72%

    9Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

  • Job 7:1
    72%

    1Isn't human life on earth like hard labor and their days like those of a hired worker?

  • Ps 39:6
    72%

    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.

  • Prov 13:11
    72%

    11Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

  • Eccl 6:1
    72%

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