1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon men:
2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them; this is vanity; it is a sore affliction.
3 If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but he does not enjoy life's good things, and also has no burial, I say that an untimely birth is better off than he.
4 For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered;
5 moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he.
6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice told, yet enjoy no good -- do not all go to the one place?
7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.
8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is man the better?
12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
Versículos relacionados com Ecclesiastes, 6:
Chapter 6 of Ecclesiastes reflects on the question of life and death, as well as about human dissatisfaction and the vanity of earthly things. The author points out that even those who have everything they want may not find true joy in life, and that death is inevitable to all. To complement this theme, five related verses follow:
Job 14:5: "But if his days are marked, if his number of his months is with you, and you have established him limits that he cannot exceed." This verse talks about the limitation of a person's lifetime, which is established by God. This is in agreement with the thought of the author of Ecclesiastes about the inevitability of death.
Psalm 90:12: "Teach us to tell our days, that we may have a wise heart." This verse emphasizes the importance of valuing the time we have in life, and using it wisely, for we do not know how long it is left.
Proverbs 23:4-5: "Do not strive to get rich; Stop paying attention to it. When your eyes fix on Him, it will disappear, for it will surely wings like the eagle and fly to the heavens." This verse points to the dissatisfaction that the incessant search for wealth can bring, since it is fleeting and does not bring lasting happiness.
1 Timothy 6:7: "For we have brought nothing to this world and we can take nothing from it; so having to eat and to dress, let us be satisfied." This verse emphasizes the idea that earthly things are fleeting and should not be the object of our constant search, since none of them can take beyond this life.
1 John 2:17: "The world and his greed pass, but he who does God's will remains forever." This verse reinforces the idea that what is most important in life is to seek God's will and live according to it, because this is the only thing that lasts beyond this earthly life.
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