Ecclesiastes 8:16
Limitations 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–
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Referenced Verses
- Ps 127:2 : 2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late, and work so hard for your food. Yes, he provides for those whom he loves even when they sleep.
- Eccl 1:13 : 13 I 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.
- Eccl 2:23 : 23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
- Eccl 4:8 : 8 A 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 5:12 : 12 The 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 7:25 : 25 True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
- Eccl 8:7 : 7 Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.
- Eccl 8:9 : 9 While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.
- Gen 31:40 : 40 I was consumed by scorching heat during the day and by piercing cold at night, and I went without sleep.
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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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 1:13-142 verses82%
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!
- Eccl 1:16-183 verses80%
16Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”
17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!
18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.
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25True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
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3I 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.
- Eccl 2:19-268 verses78%
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 2:10-178 verses77%
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.”
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?
13I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:
14The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.
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.
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13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:
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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.
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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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8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.
- Eccl 8:14-152 verses75%
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.”
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.
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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.
- Eccl 4:7-82 verses74%
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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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 6:11-122 verses74%
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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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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10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
- Eccl 6:8-92 verses73%
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.
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3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
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26if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
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13In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men,
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18I also thought to myself,“It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.
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5though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man–
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32Then I scrutinized it. I was putting my mind to it– I saw; I took in a lesson:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.