Ecclesiastes 5:16 meaning and explanation
This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
Ecclesiastes 5:16, Berean Standard Bible
Explanation preview
The speaker is the Teacher, reflecting on what he has observed "under the sun," his phrase for life in this world apart from clear knowledge of what comes after. He has just described a man who loses his wealth and leaves nothing to his son, and here he sums up the bitter pattern: a person enters the world with nothing and leaves with nothing, so all his labor cannot be carried in his hands.
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