Darby Bible
Ecclesiastes 6:2
2one to whom 1God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet 2God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and a sore evil.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
- New International Version (NIV)God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
- English Standard Version (ESV)a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.
Context of Ecclesiastes 6:2
1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among men: one to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and a sore evil. 3If a man beget a hundred [sons], and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, but his soul be not filled with good, and also he have no burial, I say an untimely birth is better than he. 4For it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness;
Read all of Ecclesiastes 6Ecclesiastes 6:2 word by word
אִ֣ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִתֶּן־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִ֡ים עֹשֶׁר֩ וּנְכָסִ֨ים וְכָב֜וֹד וְֽאֵינֶ֨נּוּ חָסֵ֥ר לְנַפְשׁ֣וֹ׀ מִכֹּ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־יִתְאַוֶּ֗ה וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁלִיטֶ֤נּוּ הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ לֶאֱכֹ֣ל מִמֶּ֔נּוּ כִּ֛י אִ֥ישׁ נָכְרִ֖י יֹֽאכֲלֶ֑נּוּ זֶ֥ה הֶ֛בֶל וָחֳלִ֥י רָ֖ע הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:2
- Ecclesiastes 5:19Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God.
- 1 Kings 3:13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
- 1 Chronicles 29:25And Jehovah magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him royal majesty such as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 1:11And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of them that hate thee, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked for thyself wisdom and knowledge, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
- Daniel 5:18O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty;
- Deuteronomy 8:7For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of water-brooks, of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills;
- Judges 18:10When ye go in, ye shall come to a people secure, and the land is spacious in every direction; for God has given it into your hands; [it is] a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth.
- Job 21:9Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
- Psalms 17:14From men [who are] thy hand, O Jehovah, from men of this age: their portion is in [this] life, and their belly thou fillest with thy hid [treasure]; they have their fill of sons, and leave the rest of their [substance] to their children.
- Psalms 73:7Their eyes stand out from fatness, they exceed the imaginations of their heart:
- Luke 12:19and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry.
- Deuteronomy 28:33The fruit of thy ground and all thy labour, shall a people that thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed continually.
- Psalms 39:6Verily, man walketh in a vain show; verily they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up [riches], and knoweth not who shall gather them.
- Lamentations 5:2Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
- Hosea 7:9Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth [it] not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he knoweth [it] not.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A man to whom God hath given riches - A man may possess much earthly goods, and yet enjoy nothing of them. Possession and fruition are not necessarily joined together; and this is also among the vanities of life. It is worthy of remark, that it belongs to God as much to give the power to enjoy as it does to give the earthly blessings. A wise heathen saw this: - Di tibi divitias dederant, artemque fruendi. Hor. Ep. lib. i., ep. 4, ver. 7. "The gods had…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2This parable of the "unfortunate man" is similar to Ecclesiastes 4:7–8 and 5:13–17. It is a sad tragedy when someone succeeds but cannot enjoy their success. This person misses the only real benefit of success.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. for his soul--that is, his enjoyment. God giveth him not power to eat--This distinguishes him from the "rich" man in Ec 5:19. "God hath given" distinguishes him also from the man who got his wealth by "oppression" (Ec 5:8, 10). stranger--those not akin, nay, even hostile to him (Jr 51:51; La 5:2; Ho 7:9). He seems to have it in his "power" to do as he will with his wealth, but an unseen power gives him up to his own avarice: God wills that he should…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:2
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
Darby Bible — 1889 — Public Domain
Commentaries