Ecclesiastes 5:16
This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
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Referenced Verses
- Prov 11:29 : 29 The one who troubles his family will inherit nothing, and the fool will be a servant to the wise person.
- Eccl 1:3 : 3 Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
- 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!
- Eccl 5:13 : 13 Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.
- Isa 26:18 : 18 We were pregnant, we strained, we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We cannot produce deliverance on the earth; people to populate the world are not born.
- Jer 2:8 : 8 Your priests did not ask,‘Where is the LORD?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.
- Hos 8:7 : 7 The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile They sow the wind, and so they will reap the whirlwind! The stalk does not have any standing grain; it will not produce any flour. Even if it were to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it all up.
- Mark 8:36 : 36 For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?
- John 6:27 : 27 Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life– the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
- 1 Sam 12:21 : 21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty.
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
- Eccl 5:13-153 verses87%
13Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.
14Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.
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.
- Eccl 1:2-32 verses82%
2Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
- Eccl 2:17-248 verses80%
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.
- Eccl 5:17-182 verses80%
17Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.
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.
- 79%
16There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.
- 79%
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.”
- 79%
9Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
- Eccl 6:1-99 verses79%
1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:
2God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor– instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.
3Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years– even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity– even if he were to live forever– I would say,“A stillborn child is better off than he is!”
4Though the stillborn child came into the world for no reason and departed into darkness, though its name is shrouded in darkness,
5though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man–
6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!
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?
9It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile– like chasing the wind.
- Eccl 4:3-42 verses77%
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 4:7-82 verses77%
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!
- 76%
14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
- Eccl 1:5-62 verses76%
5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.
6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.
- Eccl 6:11-122 verses76%
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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8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”
- 75%
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?
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3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
- Eccl 3:19-202 verses75%
19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
20Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.
- 74%
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!
- 74%
14Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”
- 74%
2He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.
- 74%
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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8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.
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10Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
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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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16but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
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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.