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

1There is a tragedy that I have seen under the sun. It is a terrible one for mortals. 2God gives one person riches, wealth, and honor so that he doesn’t lack anything he wants. Yet, God doesn’t give him the power to enjoy any of them. Instead, a stranger enjoys them. This is pointless and is a painful tragedy. Suppose a rich person wasn’t satisfied with good things ⌞while he was alive⌟ and didn’t even get an honorable burial ⌞after he died⌟. Suppose he had a hundred children and lived for many years. No matter how long he would have lived, it ⌞still⌟ would have been better for him to have been born dead. 4A stillborn baby arrives in a pointless birth and goes out into the darkness. The darkness then hides its name. 5Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, the baby finds more rest than the 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 33:5When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, “Who are these people here with you?” “The children God has graciously given me, sir,” Jacob answered.
• 1 Samuel 2:20Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.
• 2 Kings 10:1Ahab had 70 male heirs in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters to the officials of Jezreel, the respected leaders, and the guardians of Ahab’s descendants in Samaria. The letters read,
• 1 Chronicles 28:5And of all my sons (the Lord has given me many sons) he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom to rule Israel.
• 2 Chronicles 11:21Rehoboam loved Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter, more than all his other wives and concubines. (He had 18 wives and 60 concubines. He fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.)
• Esther 5:11Then Haman began to relate in detail to them how very rich he was, the many sons he had, and all about how the king promoted him to a position over the officials and the king’s advisers.
• Psalms 127:4The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
• Proverbs 17:6Grandchildren are the crown of grandparents, and parents are the glory of their children.
• Genesis 47:9Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.”
• 2 Kings 9:35But when they went out to bury her, they couldn’t find any of her body except her skull, feet, and hands.
• Esther 7:10So servants hung Haman’s ⌞dead body⌟ on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger.
• Esther 9:14The king commanded this, issuing a decree in Susa. And so they hung Haman’s ten sons ⌞on poles⌟.
• Isaiah 14:19But you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones of the pit like a trampled corpse.
• Jeremiah 22:19He will receive a donkey’s burial. He will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 36:30This is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his own corpse will be thrown out and exposed to the heat of day and the cold of night.
• Ecclesiastes 4:3But the person who hasn’t been born yet is better off than both of them. He hasn’t seen the evil that is done under the sun.

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