Ecclesiastes 6:1

1 I have seen something else wrong here on earth that causes serious problems for people.

Ecclesiastes 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 6:1

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun
The Vulgate Latin version reads it, another evil; but wrongly, for the same is considered as before, the evil of covetousness; which is one of the evil things that come out of the heart of man; is abominable to the Lord, contrary to his nature and will, and a breach of his law, which forbids it, and is the root of all evil; this is an evil under the sun, for there is nothing of this kind above it; and it fell under the observation of Solomon in various instances; and it [is] common among men;
or, "great over men" F21; or "over the man", the covetous man: it spreads itself over them; few were free from it, even so long ago, in those early times, and in such times in which silver was made no account of, and was like stones in Jerusalem, as common as they; and yet the sin of covetousness, of hoarding up money and making no use of it, for a man's own good, and the good of others, was very rife among men, ( 1 Kings 10:27 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Mdah le ayh hbrw) "et multum ipsum super hominem", Montanus; "et magaum est illud super hominem istum", Rambachius.

Ecclesiastes 6:1 In-Context

1 I have seen something else wrong here on earth that causes serious problems for people.
2 God gives great wealth, riches, and honor to some people; they have everything they want. But God does not let them enjoy such things; a stranger enjoys them instead. This is useless and very wrong.
3 A man might have a hundred children and live a long time, but what good is it if he can't enjoy the good God gives him or have a proper burial? I say a baby born dead is better off than he is.
4 A baby born dead is useless. It returns to darkness without even a name.
5 That baby never saw the sun and never knew anything, but it finds more rest than that man.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.