For what does a man have of all his labor and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
Parallel Translations
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For what does a man have of all his labor and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
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For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
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For what hath a man of all his labour, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboureth under the sun?
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 2:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for he gives sleep to his loved ones.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
- Ecclesiastes 4:6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.
- Matthew 6:34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.
- Philippians 4:6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
- 1 Timothy 6:8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.
- 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then, do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his eyes?
- Ecclesiastes 5:17 All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.
- Ecclesiastes 6:7-8 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?
- Ecclesiastes 8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
- Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
- Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?
- Proverbs 16:26 The appetite of the laboring man labors for him; for his mouth urges him on.
- Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
- Luke 12:22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.
- Luke 12:29 Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 2:22 For what hath man of all his…
Ecc 2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
Ver. 22. For what hath a man of all his labour.] What makes he of it, everything reckoned? See Ecc 1:3. What takes he with him when he dies, more than a poor winding sheet? As that great Emperor of Egypt caused to be proclaimed at his funeral, that that shirt of his, there hanged up for the purpose, was all that he now had of all his labour and great achievements. Saladin the mighty monarch of the East is gone, and hath taken no more with him than what you see, said the bare priest that went before the bier. {a} {See Trapp on "1Ti 6:7"}
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{a} Carion. Chron.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain What comfort or benefit remains to any man after…
What comfort or benefit remains to any man after this short and frail life is once ended? or, what advantage hath he by all his labours above him who never laboured, and yet enjoyeth all the fruits of his labours?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For what hath man of all his labour, and…
For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart?.... What profit has he by it, when there is so much vexation in it, both in getting it, and in the thought of leaving it to others? What advantage is it to him, when it is all acquired for and possessed by another; and especially of what use is it to him after his death? Even of all
wherein he hath laboured under the sun? the Targum adds, "in this world"; though he has been labouring all his days, yet there is not one thing he has got by his labour that is of any real advantage to him, or can yield him any solid comfort and satisfaction, or bring him true happiness, or lead him to it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain For what - What comfort or benefit remains to…
For what - What comfort or benefit remains to any man after this short and frail life is once ended?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. For what hath man of all his…
Verse 22. For what hath man of all his laborer] Labour of body, disappointment of hope, and vexation of heart, have been all my portion.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ecc 2:22-23. For what hath man — “To what…
Ecc 2:22-23. For what hath man — “To what purpose,” a man may well say, “is all this toil of my body, and these solicitous thoughts, and this anguish of my mind? For all that a man can enjoy himself of the anxious labours wherein he spends his days, amounts to little or nothing; and what comfort hath he in thinking who shall enjoy the fruit of them hereafter?” For all his days are sorrows, &c. — “And yet, such is our folly, there is no end of our cares; for we see many a man, whose life is nothing but a mere drudgery; who never is at leisure to enjoy any thing that he hath, but still engaged in one troublesome employment or other to get more; which he follows so eagerly, as if it were his business to disquiet and vex himself, and make his life uneasy to him! being not content with his daily toils, unless he rack his mind also with cares in the night! This is so void of all reason that nothing can be imagined more vain and foolish.” — Bishop Patrick.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Same sentiment as in Ecc 2:21, interrogatively.
Same sentiment as in Ecc 2:21, interrogatively.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 22. What hath man — That is, man has…
22. What hath man — That is, man has nothing — nothing solid and abiding — when the accumulations of a working life pass from his name and lineage.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22. the vexation of his heart] The word differs…
22. the vexation of his heart] The word differs from that for which “feeding on wind” has been suggested, but is akin to it, and has been, as in Ecc_1:17, rendered by meditation. Here, perhaps, “corroding care” would best convey its meaning.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain What hath man of all his labor? i.e. what…
What hath man of all his labor? i.e. what is to be the result to man? Ginetai ejn tw ajnqrwpw; (Septuagint); Quidenim proderit homini? (Vulgate). There is, indeed, the pleasure that accompanies the pursuit of objects, and the successful accomplishment of enterprise; but this is poor and unsubstantial and embittered. And of the vexation of his heart; the striving, the effort of his mind to direct his labor to great ends. What does all this produce? The answer intended is," Nothing." This striving, with all its wisdom and knowledge and skill (ver. 21), is for the laborer fruitless.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.