Ecclesiastes 6:5

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man–

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Job 3:10-13 : 10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb on me, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes! 11 Job Wishes He Had Died at Birth“Why did I not die at birth, and why did I not expire as I came out of the womb? 12 Why did the knees welcome me, and why were there two breasts that I might nurse at them? 13 For now I would be lying down and would be quiet, I would be asleep and then at peace
  • Job 14:1 : 1 The Brevity of Life“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.
  • Ps 58:8 : 8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along! Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!
  • Ps 90:7-9 : 7 Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. 8 You are aware of our sins; you even know about our hidden sins. 9 Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 6:6-12
    7 verses
    82%

    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?

    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.

  • Eccl 6:1-4
    4 verses
    80%

    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,

  • Eccl 4:2-3
    2 verses
    78%

    2So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive.

    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 2:21-23
    3 verses
    75%

    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!

  • Eccl 5:14-17
    4 verses
    75%

    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.

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

    17Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

  • Eccl 1:5
    73%

    5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    73%

    16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–

    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 1:3
    73%

    3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

  • Eccl 9:5-6
    2 verses
    73%

    5For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward– and even the memory of them disappears.

    6What 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 4:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    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!

  • Ps 49:19
    72%

    19But he will join his ancestors; they will never again see the light of day.

  • Eccl 11:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    7Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun.

    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.

  • Job 7:9-10
    2 verses
    72%

    9As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again.

    10He returns no more to his house, nor does his place of residence know him any more.

  • Job 14:6
    72%

    6Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.

  • Job 14:12
    72%

    12so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.

  • Job 20:9
    72%

    9People who had seen him will not see him again, and the place where he was will recognize him no longer.

  • Job 27:19
    71%

    19He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.

  • Eccl 4:15-16
    2 verses
    71%

    15I considered all the living who walk on earth, as well as the successor who would arise in his place.

    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 5:20
    71%

    20For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

  • Eccl 8:10
    71%

    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.

  • Eccl 2:19
    71%

    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!

  • Eccl 5:12
    71%

    12The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

  • Eccl 2:16-17
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

  • Job 3:17
    70%

    17There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

  • Eccl 8:7
    70%

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

  • Eccl 1:9
    70%

    9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

  • Job 18:6
    70%

    6The light in his tent grows dark; his lamp above him is extinguished.

  • Job 15:29
    70%

    29He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.