Verse 3

Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 5:16 : 16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
  • Eccl 2:22 : 22 Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
  • Eccl 3:9 : 9 Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
  • Eccl 2:11 : 11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
  • Prov 23:4-5 : 4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!
  • Mark 8:36-37 : 36 For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life? 37 What can a person give in exchange for his life?
  • John 6:27 : 27 Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life– the food which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
  • Matt 16:26 : 26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
  • Eccl 2:19 : 19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
  • Eccl 4:3 : 3 But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.
  • Eccl 5:18 : 18 Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.
  • Eccl 6:12 : 12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
  • Eccl 7:11 : 11 Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.
  • Eccl 8:15-17 : 15 Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. 16 Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night– 17 then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.
  • Eccl 9:3 : 3 This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.
  • Eccl 9:6 : 6 What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.
  • Eccl 9:13 : 13 Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:
  • Isa 55:2 : 2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!
  • Hab 2:13 : 13 Be sure of this! The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.
  • Hab 2:18 : 18 What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things?
  • Eccl 4:7 : 7 Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth: