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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:10

8What advantage have the wise over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others? 9Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger. 11The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone? 12For 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?

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 1:9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 3:15Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
• Genesis 3:9But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
• Job 14:1“Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
• Psalms 82:6“I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
• Psalms 103:15The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
• Job 9:3Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
• Job 33:13Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?
• Job 40:2“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
• Isaiah 45:9“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?
• Jeremiah 49:19“Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”
• Romans 9:19One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?”

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

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In the dictionaries

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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