Ecclesiastes 6:3
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6:3Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years—
even if he lives a long, long time,15 but cannot enjoy his prosperity—
even if he were to live forever16—
I would say, “A stillborn child17 is better off than he is!”18
Footnotes
- 15 Heb “the days of his years are many.”
- 16 Heb “he has no burial.” The phrase וְגַם־קְבוּרָה לֹא־הָיְתָה (végam-qévurah lo’-haytah, “he even has no burial”) is traditionally treated as part of a description of the man’s sorry final state, that is, he is deprived of even a proper burial (, , , , , , , , , ). However, the preceding parallel lines suggest that this a hyperbolic protasis: “If he were to live one hundred years … even if he were never buried [i.e., were to live forever].…” A similar idea occurs elsewhere (e.g., Pss 49:9; 89:48). See D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” , .
- 17 The noun נֶפֶל (nefel) denotes “miscarriage” and by metonymy of effect, “stillborn child” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Job 3:16; Eccl 6:3); cf. . The noun is related to the verb נָפַל (nafal, “to fall,” but occasionally “to be born”; see Isa 26:18); cf. נפל 5.
- 18 The point of 6:3–6 is that the futility of unenjoyed wealth is worse than the tragedy of being stillborn.
The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press
In other versions
ESVEnglish Standard Version
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.
Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles
NIVNew International Version (2011)
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.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.
CSBChristian Standard Bible
A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
NLTNew Living Translation
A 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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
LEBThe Lexham English Bible
Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart is not satisfied with his prosperity and he does not receive a proper burial, I deem the stillborn better than him.
Copyright 2012 Lexham Press
KJV 1900King James Version
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.
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