Ecclesiastes 4:16

Ecclesiastes 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
• New International Version (NIV)There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
• English Standard Version (ESV)There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
• New King James Version (NKJV)There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Context of Ecclesiastes 4:16

14For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him. There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:16 word by word

אֵֽין־קֵ֣ץ לְכָל־הָעָ֗ם לְכֹ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם גַּ֥ם הָאַחֲרוֹנִ֖ים לֹ֣א יִשְׂמְחוּ־ב֑וֹ כִּֽי־גַם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל וְרַעְי֥וֹן רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• no endקֵץqêts · endH7093
• of all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of all that have been beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• them: they also that come afterאַחֲרוֹן'achăryôn 'achărôn · lastH314
• shall not rejoiceשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• and vexationרַעְיוֹןra‛yôn · strivingH7475
• of spiritרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:16

• 2 Samuel 15:12While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.
• 1 Kings 1:5Adonijah son of Haggith kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and fifty men to run ahead of him.
• 1 Kings 12:10The young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us! ’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
• Judges 9:19so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.
• 2 Samuel 18:7Israel’s army was defeated by David’s soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day — twenty thousand dead.
• 2 Samuel 19:9People throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king rescued us from the grasp of our enemies, and he saved us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
• 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.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16There is no end of all the people - This is supposed to refer to the multitudes of people who hail the advent and accession of a new sovereign; for, as Suetonius remarks, A plerisque adorari solem orientem, "Most people adore the rising sun." But when the new king becomes old, very few regard him; and perhaps he lives long enough to be as much despised by the very persons who before were ready to worship him. This is also a miserable vanity. Thus the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 These verses set forth the vanity of earthly prosperity even on a throne. Opinion as to their application is chiefly divided between considering them a parable or fiction like that of the childless man in Ecclesiastes 4:8: or as setting forth first the vicissitudes of royal life in two proverbial sayings Ecclesiastes 4:13-14, and then Ecclesiastes 4:15-16, the vicissitudes or procession of the whole human race, one generation giving place to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 People are never long easy and satisfied; they are fond of changes. This is no new thing. Princes see themselves slighted by those they have studied to oblige; this is vanity and vexation of spirit. But the willing servants of the Lord Jesus, our King, rejoice in him alone, and they will love Him more and more to all eternity.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-16A ruler's popularity is temporary and fleeting, like the wind.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. Notwithstanding their now worshipping the rising sun, the heir-apparent, I reflected that "there were no bounds, no stability (2Sa 15:6; 20:1), no check on the love of innovation, of all that have been before them," that is, the past generation; so also they that come after--that is, the next generation, shall not rejoice in him--namely, Rehoboam. The parallel, "shall not rejoice," fixes the sense of "no bounds," no permanent adherence, though now men…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Prison
• Threefold
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 4

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings