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Ecclesiastes 6:12

For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

Majority Standard Bible

In The King James Version

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?

In Context

11For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

Read all of Ecclesiastes 6

Cross References

Job 8:9For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

Job 14:21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.

Psalms 16:5The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

Psalms 39:5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Psalms 89:47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

Psalms 102:11My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 6:12

The Insatiableness of Desire. 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? Here, 1. Solomon lays down his conclusion which he had undertaken to prove, as that which was fully confirmed by the foregoing discourse: There be many things that increase vanity; the life of man is vain, at the best, and there are… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

King James VersionBíblia Almeida (Português)Luther Bibel (Deutsch)Bible Louis Segond (Français)Библия (Русский)聖經 (中文)성경 (한국어)الكتاب المقدس (العربية)बाइबल (हिन्दी)Biblia (Kiswahili)Bibbia Diodati (Italiano)Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia)Kinh Thánh (Tiếng Việt)

Study Ecclesiastes 6:12

Matthew HenryJamieson-Fausset-BrownAdam ClarkeJohn WesleyJohn CalvinKeil and DelitzschScofieldFamily Bible NotesGeneva Bible Notes (1599)
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