Ecclesiastes 5:16-19 in English

¹⁶ And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Yea, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.

¹⁷ Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing for a man to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labour in which he may labour under the sun, all the number of the days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion.

¹⁸ Yea, and as for every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁹ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.

¹⁶ And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Yes, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.

¹⁷ Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing for a man to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labor in which he may labor under the sun, all the number of the days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion.

¹⁸ Yes, and as for every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

¹⁹ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.

¹⁶ And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboureth for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed and hath sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour, wherein he laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ That also seems senseless. People bring nothing into the world when they are born, and they leave this world taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit MET.

¹⁷ Furthermore, rich people are always miserable MET and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and ◄resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair►.

¹⁸ So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.

¹⁹ If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to ◄enjoy/be happy with► the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are also gifts from God.

¹⁶ Yes, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.

¹⁷ Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing for a man to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labour in which he may labour under the sun, all the number of the days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion.

¹⁸ Yes, and as for every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁹ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labours for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour, in which he labours under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ And this again is a great evil, that in all points as he came so will he go; and what profit has he in working for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.

¹⁸ This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

¹⁹ Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

¹⁶ And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and hath much vexation, and sickness, and irritation.

¹⁸ Behold what I have seen good and comely: it is to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith man laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God.

¹⁶ All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.

¹⁷ This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion.

¹⁸ And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God.

¹⁹ For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight,

¹⁶ This also makes me sick! What do people gain, working for the wind?

¹⁷ They live their lives in darkness, very frustrated, sick, and resentful.

¹⁸ But I observed that what is good and right is to eat, drink, and to find enjoyment in the work God gives us here in this life. This is God's gift to us.

¹⁹ In addition, everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions he also gives the ability to enjoy these gifts, to be grateful for what they are given, and to enjoy the work they do. This is also God's gift to us.

¹⁶ Also all his dayes hee eateth in darkenes with much griefe, and in his sorowe and anger.

¹⁷ Beholde then, what I haue seene good, that it is comely to eate, and to drinke, and to take pleasure in all his labour, wherein he traueileth vnder the sunne, the whole nomber of the dayes of his life, which God giueth him: for this is his portion.

¹⁸ Also to euery man to whom God hath giuen riches and treasures, and giueth him power to eate thereof, and to take his part, and to enioy his labour: this is the gift of God.

¹⁹ Surely hee will not much remember the dayes of his life, because God answereth to the ioy of his heart.

¹⁶ (5-15) And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go; and what profit hath he that he laboureth for the wind?

¹⁷ (5-16) All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much vexation and sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ (5-17) Behold that which I have seen: it is good, yea, it is comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy pleasure for all his labour, wherein he laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ (5-18) Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour — this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ (5:15) And also this is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so must he go: and what profit hath he that hath toiled for the wind?

¹⁷ (5:16) All his days also had he to eat in darkness, and hath had much vexation and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸ (5:17) Behold, what I have truly seen as a good thing, that it is fitting to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all one's toil that he taketh under the sun the number of the days of his life, which God hath given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ (5:18) Also every man to whom God hath given riches and property, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his toil— this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Yea, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, And much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.

¹⁷ Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing for a man To eat and to drink, And to see good In all his labor in Which he may labor under the sun, All the number of the days of his life Which God has given to him: For it is his portion.

¹⁸ Yea, and as for every man to whom God has given Wealth and possessions, and has given him Power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, And to rejoice in his labor; This is the gift of God.

¹⁹ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; For God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.

¹⁶ This is also a sore evil, that, in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit is there to him who toileth for wind?

¹⁷ Also all his days he ate in darkness, and had much grief and anxiety and vexation.

¹⁸ Behold, what I have seen is, that it is good and proper for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor which he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him; for it is his portion.

¹⁹ To whatever man also God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him to enjoy them, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Another evil is that as a person comes, so he goes away. So what profit is there for him who works for the wind?

¹⁷ During his days he eats with darkness and is greatly distressed with sickness and anger.

¹⁸ Look, what I have seen to be good and suitable is to eat and drink and to enjoy the gain from all our work, as we labor under the sun during the days of this life that God has given us. For this is man's assignment.

¹⁹ Anyone to whom God has given riches and wealth and the ability to receive his share and rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labours for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour, in which he labours under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labours for the wind?

¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.

¹⁸ Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour, in which he labours under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Utterly it is a wretched sickness; as he came, so he shall turn again. What profiteth it to him, that he travailed into the wind?

¹⁷ In all the days of his life he ate in darknesses, and in many busynesses, and in neediness, and sorrow.

¹⁸ Therefore this seemed good to me, that a man eat, and drink, and use gladness of his travail, in which he travailed under the sun, in the number of the days of his life, which God gave to him; and this is his part.

¹⁹ And to each man, to whom God gave riches, and chattel or substance, and gave power to him to eat of those, and to use his part, and to be glad of his travail; this is the gift of God.

¹⁶ Utterly it is a wretched sickness; as he came, so he shall turn again. What profiteth it to him, that he travailed into the wind? (Yea, it is utterly a wretched sickness; as he came, so he shall return. What hath it profited him? he hath only laboured for the wind!)

¹⁷ In all the days of his life he ate in darknesses, and in many busynesses, and in neediness, and sorrow.

¹⁸ Therefore this seemed good to me, that a man eat, and drink, and use gladness of his travail, in which he travailed under the sun, in the number of days of his life, which God gave to him; and this is his part. (And so it seemed good to me, that a person should eat, and drink, and enjoy, or get happiness from, the fruits of his labour, for which he laboured under the sun, in the days of his life, which God gave to him; yea, this is his portion.)

¹⁹ And to each man, to whom God gave riches, and chattel, and gave power to him to eat of those, and to use his part, and to be glad of his travail; this is the gift of God. (And to each person, to whom God gave riches, and substance, and gave the power to him to enjoy them, and to use his portion, and to be happy in his labour, or in his work; this is the gift of God.)

¹⁶ And this also is a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage is to him who laboureth for wind?

¹⁷ Also all his days in darkness he consumeth, and sadness, and wrath, and sickness abound.

¹⁸ Lo, that which I have seen: It is good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it is his portion.

¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God.