Ecclesiastes 6:12

Ecclesiastes 6:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
• New International Version (NIV)For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
• New King James Version (NKJV)For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:12

10Everything 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. Nobody 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 6:12 word by word

כִּ֣י מִֽי־יוֹדֵעַ֩ מַה־טּ֨וֹב לָֽאָדָ֜ם בַּֽחַיִּ֗ים מִסְפַּ֛ר יְמֵי־חַיֵּ֥י הֶבְל֖וֹ וְיַעֲשֵׂ֣ם כַּצֵּ֑ל אֲשֶׁר֙ מִֽי־יַגִּ֣יד לָֽאָדָ֔ם מַה־יִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָ֖יו תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For who knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• for manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• lifeחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
• allמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
• the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of his vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• which he spendethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• as a shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
• for who can tellנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• what shall be afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• him under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:12

• Ecclesiastes 2:3I thought about wine. If I drink a lot of wine, I thought that might make me happy. I might enjoy foolish things. I used wisdom to think about this. People only live for a short time on the earth. I thought this might be the best way for people to enjoy life.
• Ecclesiastes 12:13Now I have heard everything and this is what I have decided: Respect God and obey his commands. That is God's purpose for all people.
• Psalms 4:6Many people say, ‘Will anyone do a good thing for us?’ Lord, let your face smile on us.
• Psalms 16:5You, Lord, are all that I need. What you give to me is enough, for me and for my descendants.
• Psalms 17:15As for me, Lord, I am not guilty of sin. So I will see your face. When I wake up, I will see you clearly, and I will be really happy!
• Psalms 47:4He chose a special land to belong to us. Jacob's descendants are proud of that land. They are his own people that he loves. Selah.
• Lamentations 3:24‘He is my Lord,’ I say to myself. ‘He is the reason why I can hope for good things.’
• Micah 6:8But God has told us what is good. This is what the Lord wants from us: ‘You must be fair to other people,’ God says. ‘You must want to be kind. And you must be careful to do what I show you.’
• Ecclesiastes 8:13Wicked people will surely not enjoy a good life. Their lives will be like a shadow that quickly disappears. They do not respect God, so they will not live for a long time.
• Ecclesiastes 9:6Everything that they did in the world has finished. If they loved people, if they hated people, if they were jealous of people, all that has finished. They no longer having anything to do with the things that happen on the earth.
• 1 Chronicles 29:15We are like strangers and foreign people who live in your world. Our ancestors also lived in that way. We live here only for a short time and then we disappear, like a shadow. We know that we will die one day.
• Job 8:9We have not lived for very long, so we do not know very much. Our lives are like shadows that quickly disappear.
• Job 14:2He is like a flower that grows and then it soon dies. His life quickly disappears like a shadow.
• Psalms 39:5Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few! The time that I live seems very short to you. Human life is only a breath, even for those who seem to be strong. Selah.
• Psalms 89:47Remember that my life is very short! People are weak and their lives seem useless. Why do you make people like that?
• Psalms 90:10The number of our days make 70 years, or maybe 80 years if we are strong enough. But even in the best years of our lives, we have trouble and pain. Our lives quickly pass, and we hurry towards death.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12For who knoweth what is good for man in this life - Those things which we deem good are often evil. And those which we think evil are often good. So ignorant are we, that we run the greatest hazard in making a choice. It is better to leave ourselves and our concerns in the hands of the Lord, than to keep them in our own. For who can tell a man what shall be after him - Futurity is with God. While he lives, man wishes to know what is before him. When he is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12After him - i. e., On earth, in his own present sphere of action, after his departure hence (compare Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 3:22).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. 12Who knows?... Who can tell?: These questions have already been answered. We should spend our days living wisely, enjoying our work, and appreciating God's gifts (Ecclesiastes 2:13–14, 24; 3:22; 5:18). What will happen on this earth has already happened (Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10; 3:15). like a shadow: Compare Psalms 39:4–6; 90:3–6, 10–12; 109:23; 144:4.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. For who knoweth, &c.--The ungodly know not what is really "good" during life, nor "what shall be after them," that is, what will be the event of their undertakings (Ec 3:22; 8:7). The godly might be tempted to "contend with God" (Ec 6:10) as to His dispensations; but they cannot fully know the wise purposes served by them now and hereafter. Their sufferings from the oppressors are more really good for them than cloudless prosperity; sinners are being…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:12

• Ignorance
• Life
• Vanity
• Worldliness

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