Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, October 10th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Ecclesiastes 3:9

What do people really get for all their hard work?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- The Topic Concordance - Time;   War/weapons;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Wisdom literature;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Time;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Garden;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Poetry;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Providence;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Judgment, Divine;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for September 23;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
What hath a man els that doth any thyng, but weerinesse and labour?
Darby Translation
What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?
New King James Version
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
Literal Translation
What advantage has he who works in that which he did as a laborer?
Easy-to-Read Version
Do people really gain anything from their hard work?
World English Bible
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
King James Version (1611)
What profite hath hee that worketh, in that wherein he laboureth?
King James Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What hath a ma els (that doth eny thinge) but weerynesse and laboure?
THE MESSAGE
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.
Amplified Bible
What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
American Standard Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
Bible in Basic English
What profit has the worker in the work which he does?
Update Bible Version
What profit has he that works in that wherein he labors?
Webster's Bible Translation
What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth?
New English Translation
What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
Contemporary English Version
What do we gain by all of our hard work?
Complete Jewish Bible
What does the worker gain from his efforts?
Geneva Bible (1587)
What profite hath hee that worketh of the thing wherein he trauaileth?
George Lamsa Translation
What profit has the worker in his labor?
Hebrew Names Version
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth?
New Life Bible
What does the worker get for his work?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
What advantage has he that works in those things wherein he labours?
English Revised Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Berean Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his toil?
New Revised Standard
What gain have the workers from their toil?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein, himself, hath toiled?
Douay-Rheims Bible
What hath man more of his labour?
Lexham English Bible
What does the worker gain in his toil?
English Standard Version
What gain has the worker from his toil?
New American Standard Bible
What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
New Century Version
Do people really gain anything from their work?
Good News Translation
What do we gain from all our work?
Christian Standard Bible®
What does the worker gain from his struggles?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What hath a man more of his trauel?
Revised Standard Version
What gain has the worker from his toil?
Young's Literal Translation
What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

Contextual Overview

1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ecclesiastes 1:3, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:22, Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 5:16, Proverbs 14:23, Matthew 16:26

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."
Genesis 3:17
And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
Genesis 3:20
Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.
Genesis 3:21
And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Genesis 4:9
Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?" "I don't know," Cain responded. "Am I my brother's guardian?"
Genesis 11:5
But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.
Genesis 16:8
The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai," she replied.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?] That is, he has none. This is an inference drawn from the above premises, and confirms what has been before observed, Ecclesiastes 1:3; Man has no profit of his labour, since his time is so short to enjoy it, and he leaves it to another, he knows not who; and, while he lives, is attended with continual vicissitudes and changes; sometimes it is a time for one thing, and sometimes for its contrary, so that there is nothing certain, and to be depended on; and a man can promise himself nothing in this world pleasant or profitable to him, and much less that will be of any advantage to him hereafter. The Targum adds,

"to make treasures and gather mammon, unless he is helped by Providence above;''

though it is man's duty to labour, yet all his toil and labour will be fruitless without a divine blessing; there is a time and season for everything in providence, and there is no striving against that.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:9. What profit hath he — What real good, what solid pleasure, is derived from all the labours of man? Necessity drives him to the principal part of his cares and toils; he labours that he may eat and drink; and he eats and drinks that he may be preserved alive, and kept from sickness and pain. Love of money, the basest of all passions, and restless ambition, drive men to many labours and expedients, which perplex and often destroy them. He, then, who lives without God, travails in pain all his days.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile