Ecclesiastes 6:12

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For 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.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Job 14:2 : 2 He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.
  • Eccl 3:22 : 22 So 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?
  • Lam 3:24-27 : 24 “My portion is the LORD,” I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in him. 25 ט(Tet) The LORD is good to those who trust in him, to the one who seeks him. 26 It is good to wait patiently for deliverance from the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
  • Jas 4:14 : 14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.
  • Eccl 8:7 : 7 Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.
  • Eccl 8:13 : 13 But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.
  • Ps 144:4 : 4 People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears.
  • Ps 39:5-6 : 5 Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.(Selah) 6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
  • Ps 47:4 : 4 He picked out for us a special land to be a source of pride for Jacob, whom he loves.(Selah)
  • Ps 89:47 : 47 Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?
  • Ps 90:10-12 : 10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away. 11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? Your raging fury causes people to fear you. 12 So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.
  • Ps 102:11 : 11 My days are coming to an end, and I am withered like grass.
  • Ps 109:23 : 23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; I am shaken off like a locust.
  • Job 14:21 : 21 If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he does not see it.
  • Ps 4:6 : 6 Many say,“Who can show us anything good?” Smile upon us, LORD!
  • Ps 16:5 : 5 LORD, you give me stability and prosperity; you make my future secure.
  • Ps 17:15 : 15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.
  • Eccl 2:3 : 3 I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.
  • 1 Chr 29:15 : 15 For we are resident foreigners and temporary settlers in your presence, like all our ancestors; our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.
  • Job 8:9 : 9 For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow.
  • Eccl 9:6 : 6 What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.
  • Eccl 12:13 : 13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
  • Mic 6:8 : 8 He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the LORD really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 6:1-11
    11 verses
    86%

    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.

    10The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

    11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

  • Eccl 2:15-26
    12 verses
    83%

    15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

    16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!

    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 1:2-3
    2 verses
    82%

    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 8:6-7
    2 verses
    81%

    6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

    7Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.

  • Eccl 3:21-22
    2 verses
    80%

    21Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

    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 8:17
    79%

    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.

  • Eccl 3:12
    79%

    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,

  • Eccl 11:8
    78%

    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.

  • Ps 144:4
    78%

    4People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears.

  • Ps 39:6
    78%

    6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    77%

    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.”

    12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

  • Eccl 12:8
    77%

    8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”

  • Eccl 4:16
    76%

    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.

  • Eccl 3:19
    76%

    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.

  • Eccl 5:16
    76%

    16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

  • Eccl 8:15
    76%

    15Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

  • Eccl 1:14
    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 9:9-10
    2 verses
    75%

    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 5:18
    75%

    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.

  • Eccl 4:3
    75%

    3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.

  • Eccl 9:3
    75%

    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 4:8
    75%

    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!

  • Eccl 9:1
    74%

    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.

  • Jas 4:14
    74%

    14You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.