Ecclesiastes 8:16

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

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,

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 127:2 : 2 It is futile for you to rise early and stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for He grants sleep to His beloved.
  • Eccl 1:13 : 13 I 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!
  • Eccl 2:23 : 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.
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 There 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 5:12 : 12 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners.
  • Eccl 7:25 : 25 I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
  • Eccl 8:7 : 7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell anyone what is to come?
  • Eccl 8:9 : 9 I 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.
  • Gen 31:40 : 40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime, and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 8:17
    85%

    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 1:13-14
    2 verses
    82%

    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 1:16-18
    3 verses
    80%

    16I said to myself, 'Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.'

    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.

    18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

  • Eccl 7:25
    79%

    25I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

  • Eccl 2:3
    78%

    3I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

  • Eccl 2:19-26
    8 verses
    78%

    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 2:10-17
    8 verses
    77%

    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.

    13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

    14The wise have eyes in their heads, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate overtakes them both.

    15Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

    16For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered forever; in the days to come, everything will be forgotten. How does the wise person die? Just like the fool!

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

  • Eccl 9:13
    76%

    13I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 8:9
    76%

    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 9:1
    75%

    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.

  • Eccl 1:8
    75%

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

  • Eccl 8:14-15
    2 verses
    75%

    14There is a futility that takes place on the earth: righteous people receive what the wicked deserve, and wicked people receive what the righteous deserve. I said, 'This too is vanity.'

    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.

  • Eccl 9:10
    74%

    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 4:7-8
    2 verses
    74%

    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 3:12
    74%

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

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    74%

    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 3:22
    74%

    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 3:10
    74%

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

  • Eccl 6:8-9
    2 verses
    73%

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

    9Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 1:3
    73%

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

  • Job 31:26
    73%

    26if I have looked at the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,

  • Job 4:13
    73%

    13In disquieting dreams from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men,

  • Eccl 3:18
    73%

    18I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

  • Eccl 6:5
    73%

    5Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, it has more rest than that man.

  • Prov 24:32
    73%

    32I observed and took it to heart; I saw it and received instruction.

  • Eccl 4:4
    72%

    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 5:12
    72%

    12I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners.

  • Eccl 5:18
    72%

    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 11:8
    72%

    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.