Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 6:5
5Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.
Ecclesiastes 6:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
- New International Version (NIV)Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—
- English Standard Version (ESV)Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,
Context of Ecclesiastes 6:5
3A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he. 6And if a person lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place? 7All of a person’s labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 6Ecclesiastes 6:5 word by word
גַּם־שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹא־רָאָ֖ה וְלֹ֣א יָדָ֑ע נַ֥חַת לָזֶ֖ה מִזֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:5
- Job 3:10For that night did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide sorrow from my eyes.
- Job 14:1Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble.
- Psalms 58:8Like a slug that moves along in slime, like a woman’s miscarried child, may they not see the sun.
- Psalms 90:7For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:5
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Rather, it hath not seen nor known the sun: this (the untimely birth) hath rest rather than the other.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-6a hundred children and live for many years: The blessings of old age and children mean nothing if life is not enjoyable or does not end well with a proper burial. It is better to be stillborn than to live a life full of unhappiness.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. this--yet "it has more rest than" the toiling, gloomy miser.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries