Ecclesiastes 6:7–12

7 Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,

yet their appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage have the wise over fools?

What do the poor gain

by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?

9 Better what the eye sees

than the roving of the appetite.

This too is meaningless,

a chasing after the wind.

10 Whatever exists has already been named,

and what humanity is has been known;

no one can contend

with someone who is stronger.

11 The more the words,

the less the meaning,

and how does that profit anyone?

12 For 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?

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 10 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. 11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

7 All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. 8 So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?

9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

10 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.

11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?

12 In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

7 All the labor of man is for his mouth,

And yet the soul is not satisfied.

8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?

What does the poor man have,

Who knows how to walk before the living?

9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire.

This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

10 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.

11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,

How is man the better?

12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

7 People work just to feed themselves,

but they never seem to get enough to eat.

8 In this way a wise person

is no better off than a fool.

Then, too, it does a poor person little good

to know how to get along in life.

9 It is better to see what you have

than to want more.

Wanting more is useless—

like chasing the wind.

10 Whatever happens was planned long ago.

Everyone knows what people are like.

No one can argue with God,

who is stronger than anyone.

11 The more you say,

the more useless it is.

What good does it do?

12 People have only a few useless days of life on the earth; their short life passes like a shadow. Who knows what is best for them while they live? Who can tell them what the future will bring?

7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

10 Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he. 11 Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what advantage hath the wise above the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9 Better is the seeing of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and pursuit of the wind. 10 That which is hath already been named; and what man is, is known, and that he cannot contend with him that is mightier than he.

11 For there are many things that increase vanity: what is man advantaged? 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?

7 Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied. 

8 What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life? 

9 It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind. 

10 Whatever has happened ⸤in the past⸥ already has a name. Mortals are already known for what they are. Mortals cannot argue with the one who is stronger than they. 

11 The more words there are, the more pointless they become. What advantage do mortals gain from this? 12 Who knows what may be good for mortals while they are alive, during the brief, pointless days they live? Mortals pass by like a shadow. Who will tell them about their future under the sun? 

7 All man’s labor is for his stomach,

yet the appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9 Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

10 Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he. 11 For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for man? 12 For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?

7 All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what humans are and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger. 11 The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better? 12 For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?

7 All of a man’s toil is for his mouth—

yet his appetite is never satisfied.

8 So do the wise really have an advantage over fools?

Can the poor really gain anything by knowing how to act in front of others?

9 Better to be content with what your eyes see

than for your soul to constantly crave more.

This also is vanity and chasing wind!

10 Whatever is—it was already determined,

what will be—it has already been decided.

As for man, he cannot argue

against what is more powerful than him.

11 Increasing words only multiplies futility,

how does that profit anyone?

12 For who knows what is good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen in the future under the sun?

7 Man eats up everything he works to get.

But he is never satisfied.

8 What advantage does a wise man have

over someone who is foolish?

What does a poor man gain

by knowing how to act toward others?

9 Being satisfied with what you have

is better than always wanting more.

That doesn’t have any meaning either.

It’s like chasing the wind.

10 God has already planned what now exists.

He has already decided what man is.

A man can’t argue with the One

who is stronger than he is.

11 The more words people use,

the less meaning there is.

And that doesn’t help anyone.

12 Who knows what’s good for a man? He lives for only a few meaningless days. He passes through life like a shadow. Who can tell him what will happen on earth after he is gone?

7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.

8 For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

9 What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.

10 Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.

11 For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?

12 For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?