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Ecclesiastes 6
1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on men:
2a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he , yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3If a man fathers a hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good, and moreover he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he;
4for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
5Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other.
6Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails to enjoy good, don’t all go to one place?
7All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?
9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the . This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
10Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he.
11For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man?
12For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
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Questions this passage answers
What does the Bible say about work?
Scripture presents work as something given before sin entered the world, made harder by the curse, and redeemed in Christ so that ordinary labour is done for the Lord rather than for people. It commands diligence, honest dealing, rest, and provision for one's household, and it refuses to make a person's worth depend on their job.
What does the Bible say about contentment?
Scripture presents contentment as something learned rather than felt, grounded in a promise rather than in circumstances. Paul says he learned it in plenty and in hunger, Hebrews grounds it in God's word that he will never forsake us, and 1 Timothy calls godliness with contentment great gain while naming food and clothing as enough.