Ecclesiastes 6:12

In 11 translations

BSB

For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

KJV

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?all…: Heb. the number of the days of the life of his vanity

WEB

For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

ASV

For who knoweth what is good for man in his 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?

LSV

For who knows what [is] good for a man in life, the number of the days of the life of his vanity, and he makes them as a shadow? For who declares to man what is after him under the sun?

YLT

For who knoweth what [is] good for a man in life, the number of the days of the life of his vanity, and he maketh them as a shadow? for who declareth to man what is after him under the sun?

DBY

For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?

DRC7:1

What needeth a man to seek things that are above him, whereas he knoweth not what is profitable for him in his life, in all the days of his pilgrimage, and the time that passeth like a shadow? Or who can tell him what shall be after him under the sun?

GNV7:2

For who knoweth what is good for man in the life and in the nomber of the dayes of the life of his vanitie, seeing he maketh them as a shadowe? For who can shewe vnto man what shall be after him vnder the sunne?

JPS

For who knoweth what is good for man in his 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?

LXXE

What advantage has a man? for who knows what is good for a man in his life, during the number of the life of the days of his vanity? and he has spent them as a shadow; for who shall tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Word by word Hebrew · tap a word

Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.

Original-language editions

WLC

כִּ֣י מִֽי־יוֹדֵעַ֩ מַה־טּ֨וֹב לָֽאָדָ֜ם בַּֽחַיִּ֗ים מִסְפַּ֛ר יְמֵי־חַיֵּ֥י הֶבְל֖וֹ וְיַעֲשֵׂ֣ם כַּצֵּ֑ל אֲשֶׁר֙ מִֽי־יַגִּ֣יד לָֽאָדָ֔ם מַה־יִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָ֖יו תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃

LXX-Br

Τί περισσὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ; ὅτι τίς οἶδεν ἀγαθὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ, ἀριθμὸν ζωῆς ἡμερῶν ματαιότητος αὐτοῦ; καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτὰ ἐν σκιᾷ· ὅτι τίς ἀπαγγελεῖ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, τί ἔσται ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον;

In the reference works topics that cite this verse

From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).

Cross-references most cited first

• James 4:14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
• Job 14:2Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
• Lamentations 3:24–27“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a…
• Ecclesiastes 3:22I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
• Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
• Psalms 39:5–6You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he…
• Ecclesiastes 8:7Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
• Ecclesiastes 8:13Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
• 1 Chronicles 29:15For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
• Job 8:9For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.
• Psalms 102:11My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
• Psalms 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
• Ecclesiastes 12:13When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
• Psalms 17:15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.
• Ecclesiastes 2:3I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
• Job 14:21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.

From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).