Ecclesiastes 6: Wealth Without Enjoyment
The Preacher laments the grievous evil of having everything yet lacking the power to enjoy it, and confesses how little we can know of what is good.
Ecclesiastes 6 (WEB)
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on men:
2 a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3 If a man fathers a hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good, and moreover he has no burial; I say, that a stillborn child is better than he:
4 for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
5 Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other.
6 Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails to enjoy good, don’t all go to one place?
7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8 For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
10 Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he.
11 For there are many words that create vanity. What does that profit man?
12 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?
Ecclesiastes 6 (KJV)
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
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.
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
12 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?
Ecclesiastes 6 (ASV)
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men:
2 a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3 If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:
4 for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;
5 moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:
6 yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place?
7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8 For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
10 Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he.
11 Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
12 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?
Summary
The Preacher names a grievous evil he has seen weighing heavily on people: a person to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, lacking nothing they desire, yet who is given no power to enjoy it, so that a stranger consumes it instead. Such emptiness is worse than it first appears. He pushes the point to an extreme: a man might father a hundred children and live a thousand years twice over, but if his soul is not filled with good and he has no proper burial, a stillborn child is better off than he, for at least it finds rest. All human labor is for the mouth, yet the appetite is never filled; the wise have no lasting advantage over the fool, nor the poor over those who know how to live. Better is what the eyes can see than the endless wandering of desire—yet even this is vanity. The Preacher closes the chapter humbled before the limits of human knowledge: everything has already been named and known, and no one can contend with the One who is mightier. Many words only multiply vanity, and no one can finally tell another what is truly good in this fleeting, shadow-like life, or what will come after.
Main Characters
- The Preacher (Qoheleth) — The observer who laments wealth that cannot be enjoyed, the never-filled appetite, and the narrow limits of what any person can truly know.
- God — The giver of riches and honor who also grants—or withholds—the power to enjoy them, and the mighty One whom no person can contend against.
- The unsatisfied rich man — One given everything he desires yet denied the ability to enjoy it, whose plight shows that possessions without contentment are a heavy evil.
Key Verse
Ecclesiastes 6:7 (WEB)
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
Lessons Learned
- Having everything is no blessing if God does not also grant the power to enjoy it.
- Human appetite is bottomless; no amount of acquiring will ever fill it apart from God.
- Long life and many possessions cannot themselves make a life good or restful.
- We are deeply limited creatures who cannot finally know what is best or what lies ahead.
- Wealth is empty without the gift of enjoyment. A man may have riches and honor “yet God gives him no power to eat of it” (Ecclesiastes 6:2, WEB). The capacity for contentment is itself a gift only God can give.
- Appetite is never satisfied. “All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled” (Ecclesiastes 6:7, WEB). We keep feeding a hunger that consuming alone can never satisfy.
- Desire without limit is vanity. “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire” (Ecclesiastes 6:9, WEB). Contentment with what is before us surpasses endlessly roaming longing.
- We cannot contend with our Maker. No one “can contend with him who is mightier than he” (Ecclesiastes 6:10, WEB). Humility before God's greatness is the beginning of wisdom about our limits.
- Why does the Preacher call it a “grievous evil” to have wealth without the ability to enjoy it (6:1-2)?
- What does it mean that the capacity to enjoy God's gifts is itself a gift from God?
- How does the image of an appetite that is never filled (6:7) describe the human condition apart from God?
- What is the Preacher confessing about the limits of human knowledge in verses 10-12?
- Where are you tempted to believe that simply having more would make you content, and how does this chapter challenge that belief?
- It is grievous because it exposes the hollowness of mere accumulation: a person can possess everything they desire and still be unable to taste any joy in it, while a stranger reaps the benefit (6:1-2). The evil is not the wealth itself but a life full of possessions and empty of contentment.
- Throughout Ecclesiastes, both riches and the ability to enjoy them come from God's hand (compare 5:19). Contentment is not produced by getting more but granted by God to a grateful heart. This frees us from the lie that the next acquisition will finally satisfy and turns us instead toward the Giver.
- The bottomless appetite pictures how human craving keeps consuming yet is never filled (6:7). Apart from God we try to satisfy a spiritual hunger with material things, and it never works. The verse exposes the futility of chasing contentment through endless consumption.
- He confesses that everything has already been named and known, that we cannot overpower our Maker, and that no one can finally say what is good for us or what will come after (6:10-12). It is a humbling acknowledgment that we are small, limited creatures who must depend on God rather than our own understanding.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name the “if only I had more” thought that recurs in their hearts, and to weigh it against the chapter's witness. As leader, gently guide the group from the pursuit of more toward gratitude for, and enjoyment of, what God has already given.