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

1There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy. 3A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. 4His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a 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 5:19And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.
• 1 Kings 3:13And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!
• 1 Chronicles 29:25And the Lord exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.
• 2 Chronicles 1:11God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—
• Daniel 5:18Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.
• Deuteronomy 8:7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills.
• Judges 18:10When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!”
• Job 21:9Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them.
• Psalms 17:14By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.
• Psalms 73:7These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!
• Luke 12:19And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
• Deuteronomy 28:33A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.
• Psalms 39:6We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
• Lamentations 5:2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.
• Hosea 7:9Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing 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