What does it mean that God gives riches but not power to eat of them?

The passage describes a man who has riches, wealth, and honor, so he seems to lack nothing he could want. Yet he has no “power to eat of it,” meaning he cannot truly enjoy what he has. This can show itself in greed, fear, sickness, or circumstances that keep him from using his goods. In the end, a stranger enjoys what he stored up. The point is that wealth itself is a gift, but the ability to enjoy it with a free and thankful heart is also a gift from God.

Why is an untimely birth said to be better than a man with many children?

The teacher imagines a man who has a hundred children and lives many years, yet his soul is never filled with good and he even lacks an honorable burial. He then says a stillborn child is better off. The child comes in vanity and leaves in darkness, but at least has rest and never knows the weariness and greed of such a life. This sharp picture shows how empty a long, outwardly successful life is when there is no real joy from God.

What does “all the labour of man is for his mouth, yet the appetite is not filled” mean?

This line points to how people work hard mainly to meet their needs, starting with food. Yet even when those needs are met, the inner craving is not satisfied. Hunger returns, desires grow, and people want more than they have. The verse is not saying work or eating are wrong, but that they cannot give deep, lasting satisfaction. Without contentment and trust in God, a person’s effort becomes a cycle that never truly fills the heart.

What is meant by “better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire”?

“The sight of the eyes” points to what you actually have in front of you, the real things God has given. “The wandering of the desire” points to restless longing for more, always chasing what is out of reach. The teacher says it is better to quietly enjoy what you already see and hold than to let your heart run after endless wishes. This verse calls for contentment, thanking God for present gifts instead of being ruled by craving for something else.

What does this passage teach about wealth and contentment?

The passage shows that wealth, honor, and even a large family cannot bring joy by themselves. A man may have plenty but no power to enjoy it, and a stranger may benefit instead. Another may have many years but never taste real good. The problem is not possessions alone, but a restless, covetous heart. Real richness is to receive what God gives, use it freely, and be content. Without this, prosperity becomes like a sickness that only adds to a person’s misery.

How does this passage say all people share the same end?

The teacher notes that even if a man lives “a thousand years twice told” and another dies young, both “go to one place.” That place is the grave. Wise and foolish, rich and poor, all die. This truth is used to cut down human pride and to show the emptiness of living only for this life. If everyone ends in the dust, then piling up more things or more years cannot be our hope. It pushes us to seek what is beyond death and not just what is under the sun.

What does it mean that man cannot contend with the one mightier than he?

Here the one mightier than man is God. The passage reminds us that God has already named and known what man is: weak, limited, and mortal. Human beings cannot argue God into changing the basic facts of life, like death and limitation. We cannot win if we fight against the way God has ordered things. This should humble us and turn us from complaining and striving in pride to a quieter trust in God’s wisdom, even when we do not understand his ways.

Why does the teacher ask who knows what is good for man in this life?

The teacher looks at life that passes “as a shadow” and asks who can really say what is best for a person during such a short and changing time. We chase things that may not truly help us, and we do not even know what will come after us when we die. This question does not deny that some things are good, but it shows how limited our view is. It gently pushes us away from self-confident planning and toward dependence on God, who alone sees the whole picture.

How can a modern reader apply this passage about vanity and desire?

This passage speaks into a world still driven by gain and constant wanting. It invites you to ask whether chasing more money, status, or years is really filling your heart. You can apply it by praying for a content spirit, using what you have instead of hoarding it, and thanking God daily for simple gifts like food, work, and relationships. It also calls you to remember death, not to be morbid, but to hold earthly things lightly and to look for joy that does not end at the grave.

Eccl.6.1

Ecclesiastes 6:1

KJV

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

The Futility of Life

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

3 ¶ If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.

5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.

6 ¶ Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

9 ¶ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.

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?

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.