EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 1:3
3People work very hard while they live on the earth. But in the end, what do they receive in return for their work?
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
1These are the words of the Teacher, David's son, who ruled as king in Jerusalem. 2The Teacher says, ‘Nothing has a purpose. Nothing that ever happens has a purpose.’ People work very hard while they live on the earth. But in the end, what do they receive in return for their work? 4Old people die and then their children live after them. But the earth continues and it never changes. 5The sun rises in the morning and it disappears in the evening. Then it quickly moves to rise again the next morning.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:3 word by word
מַה־יִּתְר֖וֹן לָֽאָדָ֑ם בְּכָל־עֲמָל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:3
- Ecclesiastes 2:22People have to do a lot of hard work on this earth and it causes them to worry. But in the end, they have nothing.
- Ecclesiastes 3:9People work very hard, but what do they receive in return?
- Ecclesiastes 5:16This is also a terrible thing to happen. People leave this earth with nothing, as they came into it with nothing. All their hard work has been useless, like someone who tries to catch the wind.
- Proverbs 23:47. Do not work so hard to become rich that you make yourself ill. Be wise and rest when you need to.
- Isaiah 55:2Do not spend money on anything that is not real food. You work hard for your money, so do not spend it on things which do not help you. Listen carefully to me. Eat something that will make you strong! Enjoy the best food!
- Habakkuk 2:13Listen! The Lord Almighty has commanded this: All the work that people do to get things for themselves is useless. The things that the nations work so hard to get will become smoke!
- Matthew 16:26A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life.
- Mark 8:36A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him.
- John 6:27Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
- Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I thought about everything that I had done, and all my hard work. After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose. I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind. None of the things on earth have any value.
- Ecclesiastes 4:3But people who have not yet been born are even happier! They have not seen the evil things that happen on the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18But I realized that there is one good thing for people to do. We should be happy to eat and to drink. And we should enjoy the hard work that we do on the earth. That is what God wants us to do during the short time that he has given us on this earth.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12Nobody knows the best way for us to live our lives. We live for only a few years and our lives seem to have no purpose. Our lives quickly disappear, like a shadow. Nobody can tell us what will happen on the earth after our death.
- Ecclesiastes 7:11It is good to have wisdom, like money that you receive from your father. Wisdom helps everyone who lives.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15So I think that we should enjoy our lives. People should be happy to eat, drink and enjoy their lives. That is the best thing for them to do. It will help them to enjoy the work that they do during their lives. That is the life which God has given them on the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3Finally, the same thing happens to everyone on the earth. That seems to be a terrible thing. People choose to do evil things. While they are alive, they choose to live like fools. And after that, they die.
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
In the dictionaries
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries