Ecclesiastes 6:3

Ecclesiastes 6:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
• New International Version (NIV)A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he—

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:3

1I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth. It causes people to have a lot of trouble. 2God 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. Someone 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. 5He never sees the light of day. He never knows anything. But he enjoys more rest than that rich person.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 word by word

אִם־יוֹלִ֣יד אִ֣ישׁ מֵאָ֡ה וְשָׁנִים֩ רַבּ֨וֹת יִֽחְיֶ֜ה וְרַ֣ב׀ שֶׁיִּהְי֣וּ יְמֵֽי־שָׁנָ֗יו וְנַפְשׁוֹ֙ לֹא־תִשְׂבַּ֣ע מִן־הַטּוֹבָ֔ה וְגַם־קְבוּרָ֖ה לֹא־הָ֣יְתָה לּ֑וֹ אָמַ֕רְתִּי ט֥וֹב מִמֶּ֖נּוּ הַנָּֽפֶל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If a manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• begetיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• an hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• and liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• so that the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and his soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• be not filledשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with goodטוֹבָהţôb · welfareH2896
• he have no burialקְבֻרָהqebûrâh qebûrâh · tombH6900
• I sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• an untimely birthנֵ֫פֶלnephel nêphel · miscarriageH5309
• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:3

• Genesis 33:5Then Esau looked up. He saw the women and children. He asked, ‘Who are these people with you?’ Jacob replied, ‘They are the children that God has given to me, your servant.’
• 1 Samuel 2:20Each year, Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. He said, ‘I pray that the Lord will give you more children to take the place of Samuel. Hannah has given her son to serve the Lord, so may she give birth to other children too.’ Then they would return to their own home.
• 2 Kings 10:1Ahab had 70 sons who lived in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and he sent them to Samaria. He sent them to Jezreel's officers and leaders, as well as to the men who took care of Ahab's sons.
• 1 Chronicles 28:5The Lord has given me many sons. Now he has chosen my son Solomon from among them to rule over his kingdom, Israel.
• 2 Chronicles 11:21Rehoboam loved Absalom's daughter Maakah better than he loved any of his other wives. He had 18 wives and 60 slave wives. He was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.
• Esther 5:11Haman told them how rich he was, and how many sons he had. He told them of all the things that the king had done to give him great honour. He told them that he was now more important than all the king's other rulers and officers.
• Psalms 127:4If you have sons while you are a young man, they are like a soldier's arrows.
• Proverbs 17:6Old people should be proud of their grandchildren. In the same way, children should be proud of their parents.
• Genesis 47:9Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and they have been difficult. I have not lived for as long as my ancestors lived.’
• 2 Kings 9:35But when they went out to bury her, not much of her body was still there. They found only her skull, her feet and her hands.
• Esther 7:10So they took Haman and they hanged him on the tower until he was dead. It was the same tower that Haman had wanted to kill Mordecai on. After that, the king did not feel so angry.
• Esther 9:14The king agreed and he commanded that this should happen. He made another law so that the Jews in Susa could fight again. They also put the dead bodies of Haman's ten sons on the tower.
• Isaiah 14:19But as for you, Babylon's king, they have thrown you out! You have no grave! You are like a branch that has broken off. You lie among the dead bodies of soldiers that their enemies have killed with their swords. They have thrown your body into a big hole in the rocks, and they have walked over it.
• Jeremiah 22:19Instead, they will bury him like a dead donkey. They will pull his dead body to the city's gate. They will throw it on the ground outside Jerusalem.’
• Jeremiah 36:30So now the Lord says this to you, Jehoiakim, king of Judah: “None of your descendants will rule David's kingdom of Judah. When you die, people will not bury your body. They will throw your dead body on the ground. As it lies there, the sun will burn it in the daytime. At night it will be cold with frost.
• 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.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3If a man beget a hundred children - If he have the most numerous family and the largest possessions, and is so much attached to his riches that he grudges himself a monument; an abortion in the eye of reason is to be preferred to such a man; himself is contemptible, and his life worthless. The abortion comes in with vanity - baulks expectation, departs in darkness - never opened its eyes upon the light, and its name is covered with darkness - it has no…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3No burial - For a corpse to lie unburied was a circumstance in itself of special ignominy and dishonor (compare the marginal references).Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-6a hundred children and live for many years: The blessings of old age and children mean nothing if life is not enjoyable or does not end well with a proper burial. It is better to be stillborn than to live a life full of unhappiness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Even if a man (of this character) have very many (equivalent to "a hundred," 2Ki 10:1) children, and not have a "stranger" as his heir (Ec 6:2), and live long ("days of years" express the brevity of life at its best, Ge 47:9), yet enjoy no real "good" in life, and lie unhonored, without "burial," at death (2Ki 9:26, 35), the embryo is better than he. In the East to be without burial is the greatest degradation. "Better the fruit that drops from the…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:3

• Old Age

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