3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. 5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
Ecclesiastes 6:3–6
Semantically similar passages
Psalms 49:18–20
18 Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul— and men praise you when you prosper— 19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day. 20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
Ecclesiastes 4:2–4
2 So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4 I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighb…
Psalms 49:11–13
11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes. 12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the fate of the self-confident and their follow…
Job 21:24–26
24 His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow. 25 Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity. 26 But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
Job 20:10–12
10 His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth. 11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust. 12 Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
Job 21:20–22
20 Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out? 22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
Ecclesiastes 5:13–15
13 There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, 14 or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on. 15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he a…
Wisdom of Solomon 3:16–18
16 But children of adulterers will not come to maturity. The seed of an unlawful union will vanish away. (WEB) 17 For if they live long, they will not be esteemed, and in the end, their old age will be without honor. (WEB) 18 If they die young, they will have no hope, nor consolati… (WEB)
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