Darby Bible
Ecclesiastes 4:16
16[There is] no end of all the people, of all that stood before them; those however that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.
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 out of the prison-house he came forth to reign, although he was born poor in his kingdom. 15I saw all the living that walk under the sun, with the child, the second, that should stand up in his stead. [There is] no end of all the people, of all that stood before them; those however that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 4Ecclesiastes 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
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 4:16
- 2 Samuel 15:12And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, from Giloh, while he offered the sacrifices. And the conspiracy gathered strength; and the people increased continually with Absalom.
- 1 Kings 1:5And Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he provided himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
- 1 Kings 12:10And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, — thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father's loins;
- Judges 9:19— if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;
- 2 Samuel 18:7And the people of Israel were routed before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day: twenty thousand men.
- 2 Samuel 19:9And all the people were at strife throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land because of Absalom.
- Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and pursuit of the wind.
- 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.
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
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
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Commentaries