Ecclesiastes 6:2

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

1I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. It causes people to have a lot of trouble. God may give someone lots of money and valuable things. People also respect that person. He has everything that he wants. He has worked hard to get them. But God does not allow him to enjoy those things. Instead, a stranger enjoys all that person's things. This has no purpose. It is a terrible thing to happen to someone. 3Someone may have many children and he may live for a long time. But even if he lives until he is very old, he may not enjoy a good life. After he dies, people may not bury him with honour. His life would be useless. Even a child that is dead at birth is happier than that person. That is what I think. 4The child's birth has no purpose. He immediately goes to a dark place. Nobody ever speaks his name.

Ecclesiastes 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• A manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• to whom Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• richesעֹ֫שֶׁר‛ôsher · richesH6239
• wealthנֶ֫כֶסnekes · wealthH5233
• and honourכָּבוֹדkâbôd kâbôd · gloryH3519
• so that he wantethחָסֵרchâsêr · lackingH2638
• nothing for his soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• of all that he desirethאָוָה'âvâh · to desireH183
• giveth him not powerשָׁלַטshâlaţ · to domineerH7980
• to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• thereof, but a strangerנׇכְרִיnokrîy · foreignH5237
• thereof, but a strangerאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• an evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
• diseaseחֳלִיchŏlîy · sicknessH2483

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:2

• Ecclesiastes 5:19God gives some people a lot of money and valuable things. He helps them to enjoy those things and to be happy with their work. All of this is a gift from God.
• 1 Kings 3:13I will give you even more than this. I will make you rich and famous, even though you did not ask for that. As long as you live, there will be no other king who is greater than you.
• 1 Chronicles 29:25The Lord caused all the people in Israel to respect Solomon as a great king. They gave him much honour, more than any king that had ruled Israel before him.
• 2 Chronicles 1:11God said to Solomon, ‘I am pleased that you have not asked to have riches or many valuable things. You have not asked me to give you great honour or for me to punish your enemies with death. You have not asked for a long life. Instead you asked me to give you wisdom and knowledge to rule over my people that I have chosen you to rule as king.
• Daniel 5:18I tell you this, King Belshazzar. The powerful God who rules over everything gave authority to your father, Nebuchadnezzar, to rule as king. God made him very great and very famous, so that he ruled with power. People respected him as a great king.
• Deuteronomy 8:7Remember that the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. It is a land that has many streams, pools and springs of water. There is water that runs in the valleys and in the hills.
• Judges 18:10When you attack, you will see that the people there think that they are safe. Their land is very big and it has everything that we need. God will surely give it to you.’
• Job 21:9They are safe in their homes and they are not afraid. God does not punish them.
• Psalms 17:14Lord, use your power to save me from them. They only think about this world, and they enjoy the good things that it gives them. So give them all that you have ready for them. Give them more than they want! May their children also have plenty, and enough left to give to their children too.
• Psalms 73:7Their greedy eyes lead them into sin. Their minds think of evil things to do.
• Luke 12:19Then I will say to myself, ‘You have plenty of things stored safely. These will be enough for you for many years. Now you can live an easy life. Eat and drink as much as you want. Enjoy yourself.’ ”
• Deuteronomy 28:33Strangers will eat the food that you have worked hard to grow in your fields. People will be cruel to you for the rest of your lives.
• 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.’
• Lamentations 5:2Strangers have taken the land that our ancestors gave to us. Foreign people live in our homes.
• Hosea 7:9Foreign people have taken away Israel's strength. But the Israelites do not realize what is happening! They have become like an old man with grey hair. But they do not realize how weak they are.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4I also thought about the clever work that people do. I saw that people work hard because they are jealous of each other. They want to do better than other people. I realized that this has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch 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

• Riches
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Synagogue, the Great
• Wealth, Wealthy

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