Ecclesiastes 1:3

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 Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity. What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun? 4[One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever. 5The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.

Ecclesiastes 1:3 word by word

מַה־יִּתְר֖וֹן לָֽאָדָ֑ם בְּכָל־עֲמָל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear

• profitיִתְרוֹןyithrôn · advantageH3504
• manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:3

• Ecclesiastes 2:22For what will man have of all his labour and of the striving of his heart, wherewith he hath wearied himself under the sun?
• Ecclesiastes 3:9What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?
• Ecclesiastes 5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?
• Proverbs 23:4Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
• Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
• Habakkuk 2:13Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
• Matthew 16:26For what does a man profit, if he should gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
• Mark 8:36For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?
• John 6:27Work not [for] the food which perishes, but [for] the food which abides unto life eternal, which the Son of man shall give to you; for him has the Father sealed, [even] God.
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that it had cost me to do [them]; and behold, all was vanity and pursuit of the wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 4:3and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 5:18Behold what I have seen good and comely: [it is] to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith [man] laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion.
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?
• Ecclesiastes 7:11Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and profitable to them that see the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 8:15And I commended mirth, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God hath given him under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil among all that is done under the sun, that one thing befalleth all: yea, also the heart of the children of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live; and after that, [they have to 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

• Covetousness
• Industry

In the dictionaries

• Sun
• Vanity
• Canon of the Old Testament
• Ecclesiastes, the Preacher
• Labor
• Pain
• Synagogue, the Great

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