Ecclesiastes 3:9
Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
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Referenced Verses
- Eccl 1:3 : 3 Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
- Eccl 2:11 : 11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
- Eccl 5:16 : 16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
- Matt 16:26 : 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
- Prov 14:23 : 23 In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.
- Eccl 2:22-23 : 22 Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? 23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
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3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
- Eccl 3:10-134 verses83%
10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
13and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.
- Eccl 2:17-2610 verses83%
17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.
18Futility of Being a Workaholic So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.
19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
23For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
24Enjoy Work and its Benefits There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.
25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.
26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!
- Eccl 2:10-112 verses81%
10I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.
11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
- Eccl 5:15-162 verses79%
15Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.
16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
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22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
- Eccl 4:6-83 verses77%
6Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.
7Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
8A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
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9For he says,‘It does not profit a man when he makes his delight with God.’
- Eccl 4:3-42 verses76%
3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
4Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.
- Eccl 1:13-142 verses75%
13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
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8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
- Eccl 9:9-102 verses75%
9Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.
10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.
- Eccl 6:7-82 verses75%
7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!
8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?
- Eccl 6:11-122 verses75%
11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
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6A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
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9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.
- Eccl 3:1-22 verses74%
1A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;
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23In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.
- Eccl 5:18-192 verses74%
18Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.
19To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.
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17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.
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1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.
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26A laborer’s appetite has labored for him, for his hunger has pressed him to work.
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9The produce of the land is seized by all of them, even the king is served by the fields.
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1The Brevity of Life“Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?
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6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
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11Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away, but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich.
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1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people: