Ecclesiastes 9:6

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

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.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 146:3-4 : 3 Do not trust in princes, or in human beings, who cannot deliver! 4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground; on that day their plans die.
  • Prov 10:28 : 28 The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.
  • Eccl 2:18-23 : 18 Futility 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. 19 Who 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! 20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth. 21 For 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! 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 6:12 : 12 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.
  • Matt 2:20 : 20 saying,“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”
  • Exod 1:8 : 8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt.
  • Job 3:17-18 : 17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. 18 There the prisoners relax together; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 9:5
    81%

    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.

  • Eccl 9:1
    76%

    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.

  • 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 4:16
    74%

    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 1:9-11
    3 verses
    74%

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

    10Is there anything about which someone can say,“Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.

    11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

  • Eccl 8:9-10
    2 verses
    74%

    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.

    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 2:16-18
    3 verses
    73%

    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.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    73%

    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 4:2-4
    3 verses
    71%

    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.

    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 3:12
    71%

    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 3:19-20
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    71%

    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.

  • Job 6:17-18
    2 verses
    71%

    17When they are scorched, they dry up, when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

    18Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.

  • Eccl 6:5-6
    2 verses
    71%

    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!

  • Eccl 1:3
    71%

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

  • Eccl 3:22
    71%

    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 2:11
    71%

    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.”

  • Job 4:20-21
    2 verses
    70%

    20They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

    21Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.

  • Eccl 6:1
    70%

    1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:

  • Eccl 1:14
    70%

    14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Ps 103:16
    70%

    16but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.

  • Eccl 9:7
    70%

    7Life is Brief, so Cherish its Joys Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

  • Eccl 2:22-23
    2 verses
    70%

    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!

  • Isa 26:14
    69%

    14The dead do not come back to life, the spirits of the dead do not rise. That is because you came in judgment and destroyed them, you wiped out all memory of them.

  • Eccl 2:20
    69%

    20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

  • Eccl 8:17
    69%

    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 3:14-15
    2 verses
    69%

    14God’s Sovereignty I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

    15Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

  • Eccl 4:8
    69%

    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 6:9
    68%

    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 8:14-15
    2 verses
    68%

    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.

  • Job 20:9
    68%

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

  • Eccl 9:13
    68%

    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:

  • Eccl 12:8
    68%

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

  • Job 7:9
    68%

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