Ecclesiastes 6:10

Ecclesiastes 6:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
• New International Version (NIV)Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:10

8Does a wise person have a better life than a foolish person? No, he does not! Does it help a poor person if he knows how to live well? No! 9It is good to enjoy the things that we have. That is better than to want more things all the time. If you always try to get more things, that has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind. Everything that is here today already has its name. Everyone knows what we humans are like. It is useless to argue with someone who is more powerful than we are. 11If we talk too much, we will say silly things. So it will not help anyone to talk with many words. 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 6:10 word by word

מַה־שֶּֽׁהָיָ֗ה כְּבָר֙ נִקְרָ֣א שְׁמ֔וֹ וְנוֹדָ֖ע אֲשֶׁר־ה֣וּא אָדָ֑ם וְלֹא־יוּכַ֣ל לָדִ֔ין עִ֥ם שֶׁתַּקִּ֖יף מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• That which hath been is namedשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• That which hath been is namedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• alreadyכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
• and it is knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• neither mayיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• he contendדִּיןdîyn dûn · to judgeH1777
• with him that is mightierתַּקִּיףtaqqîyph · mightyH8623

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:10

• Ecclesiastes 1:9Things that are happening now will continue to happen in the future. What people have done before, other people will do again. There is nothing truly new anywhere on the earth.
• Ecclesiastes 3:15Whatever is happening now has happened before. Everything that will happen in the future has already happened. God causes the same things to happen again and again.
• Genesis 3:9The Lord God called out to the man. He said to him, ‘Where are you?’
• Job 14:1Everyone that a woman gives birth to lives only for a short time. The days of his life are full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:6As we live, we are just like shadows. We work to get things for ourselves. We may get a lot of money, but we do not know who will have it after we die.’
• Psalms 82:6I said, “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High God.
• Psalms 103:15A person's life is like grass that quickly dies. He is strong only for a short time, like wild flowers in a field.
• Job 9:3It is not possible to argue with God. God can ask 1,000 questions that we cannot answer.
• Job 33:13So you should not argue against him. You should not say, “God does not answer any of my questions.”
• Job 40:2‘Do you still want to argue with me, the Almighty God? You say that I have not been fair. Now you must explain what you mean.’
• Isaiah 45:9It will be very bad for people who quarrel with their Maker. They are like pieces of a pot that are lying on the ground among all the other pieces. The clay does not say to the potter, ‘What do you think you are you making?’ The pot does not say to the potter, ‘Your work is useless!’
• Jeremiah 49:19‘I will attack the people of Edom and I will chase them out of their land. I will be like a lion that has been hiding in the forest. It attacks the sheep in the fields beside the Jordan River. Like that lion, I will suddenly chase Edom's people out of their country. Then I will choose a leader to rule that nation. There is nobody who is like me. Nobody can accuse me of anything. No ruler can stand against me.
• Romans 9:19One of you may say to me, ‘God always does what he wants to do. Nobody can change what God makes them do. So God should not say that people have done wrong things.’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10That which hath been is named already - The Hebrew of this verse might be translated, "Who is he who is? His name has been already called. And it is known that he is Adam; and that he cannot contend in judgment with him who is stronger than he." "What is more excellent than man; yet can he not, in the lawe, get the victory of him that is mightier than he." - Coverdale. Adam is his name; and it at once points out, His dignity; he was made in the image of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Or, “That which has been named - i. e., events past or current, either Ecclesiastes 1:9 as they present themselves to man, or Ecclesiastes 3:15 as they are ordered by God - was long ago (i. e., was decreed, its nature and place were defined by the Almighty), and was known that it is man;” i. e., the course of events shapes the conduct and character of man, so that what he does and suffers is said to be or constitute the man. God from the beginning…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The poor man has comfort as well as the richest, and is under no real disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the resting of the soul in God; for it is better to live by faith in things to come, than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10Whatever exists was named long ago: See Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:5, 11. it is known what man is: See Psalms 139:15–16. he cannot contend with one stronger than he: See Romans 9:20–24.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. Part II begins here. Since man's toils are vain, what is the chief good? (Ec 6:12). The answer is contained in the rest of the book. That which hath been--man's various circumstances is named already--not only has existed, Ec 1:9; 3:15, but has received its just name, "vanity," long ago, and it is known that it--vanity is man--Hebrew, "Adam," equivalent to man "of red dust," as his Creator appropriately named him from his frailty. neither may he…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:10

• Death

In the dictionaries

• Synagogue, the Great

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