Ecclesiastes 1:3

New Living Translation

What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?

Cross References

Ecclesiastes 2:11

But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

Ecclesiastes 2:18

I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless!

Ecclesiastes 2:22

So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?

Ecclesiastes 3:9

What do people really get for all their hard work?

Ecclesiastes 4:3

But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 4:7

I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 5:16

And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.

Ecclesiastes 5:18

Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.

Ecclesiastes 6:12

In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

Ecclesiastes 7:11

Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.

Ecclesiastes 9:13

Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

Ecclesiastes 9:6

Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.

Isaiah 55:2

Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

Habakkuk 2:13

Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!

Habakkuk 2:18

“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!

Matthew 16:26

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

John 6:27

But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

1 Corinthians 16:16

to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion.