Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 1:3
3What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 1:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
- New International Version (NIV)What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?
- English Standard Version (ESV)What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
- New King James Version (NKJV)What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:3
1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? 4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it hurries back to the place where it rises.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:3 word by word
מַה־יִּתְר֖וֹן לָֽאָדָ֑ם בְּכָל־עֲמָל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:3
- Ecclesiastes 2:22For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 3:9What does the worker gain from his struggles?
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?
- Proverbs 23:4Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop!
- Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?
- Matthew 16:26For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?
- Mark 8:36For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?
- John 6:27Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”
- Ecclesiastes 2:11When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 4:3But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell anyone what will happen after him under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 7:11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun,
- Ecclesiastes 8:15So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3What profit hath a man - What is the sum of the real good he has gained by all his toils in life? They, in themselves, have neither made him contented nor happy.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3What profit - The question often repeated is the great practical inquiry of the book; it receives its final answer in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. When this question was asked, the Lord had not yet spoken Matthew 11:28. The word “profit” (or pre-eminence) is opposed to “vanity.” Hath a man - Rather, hath man.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The Hebrew phrase under the sun appears twenty-nine times in Ecclesiastes. The New Living Translation sometimes translates it as "here on earth" (Proverbs 2:18) or "in this world" (Proverbs 2:20). It suggests a view of life focused on earthly matters rather than God's perspective.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. What profit ... labour--that is, "What profit" as to the chief good (Mt 16:26). Labor is profitable in its proper place (Ge 2:15; 3:19; Pr 14:23). under the sun--that is, in this life, as opposed to the future world. The phrase often recurs, but only in Ecclesiastes.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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