Bible/Ecclesiastes/6

Ecclesiastes 6:4

6:3 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.
For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.

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for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

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

For he comes in with vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.

6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.

What does Ecclesiastes 6:4 mean?

Ecclesiastes 6:4 is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include בּוֹא (bôwʼ), הֶבֶל (hebel), יָלַךְ (yâlak). It connects to 7 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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For
he
comethבּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/H935to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
in
with
vanity,הֶבֶלhebel/heh'bel/H1892emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb
and
departethיָלַךְyâlak/yaw-lak'/H3212to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
in
darkness,חֹשֶׁךְchôshek/kho-shek'/H2822the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness
and
his
nameשֵׁםshêm/shame/H8034an appellation, as amark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character
shall
be
coveredכָּסָהkâçâh/kaw-saw'/H3680properly, to plump, i.e. fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy)
with
darkness.חֹשֶׁךְchôshek/kho-shek'/H2822the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 6:4

HENRY_FULL · Ecclesiastes 6:4
ing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this psalm. The Absurdity of Idolatry. 1 Not unto us, O Lord , not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Exodus 32:12

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

Numbers 14:15

Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

Numbers 14:16

Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 32:26

I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

Deuteronomy 32:27

Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this. Our: or, Our high hand, and not the LORD hath done

2 Kings 19:10

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Joel 2:17

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? rule over: or, use a byword against

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Ecclesiastes 6:4.

Genesis 11:31

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Genesis 12:5

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Genesis 16:8

And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Adam: or, the man

Genesis 6:4

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 9:23

And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

Frequently asked questions

What does Ecclesiastes 6:4 say?

Ecclesiastes 6:4 (King James Version) reads: "For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness."

Is Ecclesiastes 6:4 in the Old or New Testament?

Ecclesiastes 6:4 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Reflect

As you read Ecclesiastes 6:4, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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