Ecclesiastes 6:3
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain to a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance, and he be without burial: of this man I pronounce, that the untimely born is better than he.

a man

Genesis 33:5 And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their children, and said: What mean these? And do they belong to thee? He answered: They are the children which God hath given to me, thy servant.

1 Samuel 2:20,21 And Heli blessed Elcana and his wife: and he said to him: The Lord give thee seed of this woman, for the loan thou hast lent to the Lord. And they went to their own home. . . .

2 Kings 10:1 And Achab had seventy sons in Samaria: so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the chief men of the city, and to the ancients, and to them that brought up Achab's children, saying:

1 Chronicles 28:5 And among my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons) he hath chosen Solomon my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

2 Chronicles 11:21 And Roboam loved Maacha the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines: for he had married eighteen wives, and threescore concubines: and he begot eight and twenty sons, and threescore daughters.

Esther 5:11 And he declared to them the greatness of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and with how great glory the king had advanced him above all his princes and servants.

Psalm 127:4,5 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken. . . .

Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men: and the glory of children are their fathers.

Genesis 47:9 He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

and also

2 Kings 9:35 And when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands.

Esther 7:10 So Aman was hanged on the gibbet, which he had prepared for Mardochai: and the king's wrath ceased.

Esther 9:14,15 And the king commanded that it should be so done. And forthwith the edict was hung up in Susan, and the ten sons of Aman were hanged. . . .

Isaiah 14:19,20 But thou art cast out of thy grave, as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that were slain by the sword, and art gone down to the bottom of the pit, as a rotten carcass. . . .

Jeremiah 22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 36:30 Therefore thus saith the Lord against Joakim the king of Juda: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day, and to the frost by night.

that

Ecclesiastes 4:3 And I judged him happier than them both, that is not yet born, nor hath seen the evils that are done under the sun.

Job 3:16 Or as a hidden untimely birth, I should not be; or as they that, being conceived, have not seen the light.

Psalm 58:8 Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun.

Matthew 26:24 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were better for him, if that man had not been born.

Context
The Futility of Life
2A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour, and his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth: yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up. This is vanity and a great misery. 3If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain to a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance, and he be without burial: of this man I pronounce, that the untimely born is better than he.4For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten.…
Cross References
Job 3:16
Or as a hidden untimely birth, I should not be; or as they that, being conceived, have not seen the light.

Psalm 58:8
Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun.

Ecclesiastes 4:3
And I judged him happier than them both, that is not yet born, nor hath seen the evils that are done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 6:4
For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten.

Isaiah 14:20
Thou shalt not keep company with them, even in burial: for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people: the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever.

Jeremiah 8:2
And they shall spread them abroad to the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom have walked, and whom they have sought, and adored: they shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried: they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth.

Jeremiah 22:19
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.

Lexicon
A man
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 376: A man as an individual, a male person

may father
יוֹלִ֣יד (yō·w·lîḏ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

a hundred [children]
מֵאָ֡ה (mê·’āh)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 3967: A hundred

and live
יִֽחְיֶ֜ה (yiḥ·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 2421: To live, to revive

for many
רַבּ֨וֹת (rab·bō·wṯ)
Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's Hebrew 7227: Much, many, great

years;
וְשָׁנִים֩ (wə·šā·nîm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's Hebrew 8141: A year

yet no matter how long
וְרַ֣ב ׀ (wə·raḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 7227: Much, many, great

he lives,
יְמֵֽי־ (yə·mê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's Hebrew 3117: A day

if he
וְנַפְשׁוֹ֙ (wə·nap̄·šōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

is unsatisfied
תִשְׂבַּ֣ע (ṯiś·ba‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 7646: To be sated, satisfied or surfeited

with
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's Hebrew 4480: A part of, from, out of

his prosperity
הַטּוֹבָ֔ה (haṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

and does not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's Hebrew 3808: Not, no

even
וְגַם־ (wə·ḡam-)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's Hebrew 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

receive a proper burial,
קְבוּרָ֖ה (qə·ḇū·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 6900: Sepulture, a sepulchre

I say
אָמַ֕רְתִּי (’ā·mar·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 559: To utter, say

that a stillborn child
הַנָּֽפֶל׃ (han·nā·p̄el)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 5309: Something fallen, an abortion

is better off
ט֥וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

than he.
מִמֶּ֖נּוּ (mim·men·nū)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 4480: A part of, from, out of


Additional Translations
A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.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.

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:

If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, yea, however abundant the days of his years shall be, yet if his soul shall not be satisfied with good, and also he have no burial; I said, An untimely birth is better than he.

If a man beget a hundred [sons], and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, but his soul be not filled with good, and also he have no burial, I say an untimely birth is better than he.

If a man beget an hundred children and live many years, so that the days of his years be 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:

If a man begetteth a hundred children, and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also that he hath no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

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:

If a man doth beget a hundred, and live many years, and is great, because they are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from the goodness, and also he hath not had a grave, I have said, 'Better than he is the untimely birth.'
Jump to Previous
Beget Begetteth Better Birth Burial Child Children Enjoy Fathers Filled Good However Hundred Live Matter Miscarriage Moreover Proper Prosperity Receive Satisfied Soul Stillborn Untimely Years
Jump to Next
Beget Begetteth Better Birth Burial Child Children Enjoy Fathers Filled Good However Hundred Live Matter Miscarriage Moreover Proper Prosperity Receive Satisfied Soul Stillborn Untimely Years
External Links
Ecclesiastes 6:3 NIV
Ecclesiastes 6:3 NLT
Ecclesiastes 6:3 ESV
Ecclesiastes 6:3 NASB
Ecclesiastes 6:3 ASV

Ecclesiastes 6:3 Bible Apps
Ecclesiastes 6:3 Biblia Paralela
Ecclesiastes 6:3 Chinese Bible
Ecclesiastes 6:3 French Bible
Ecclesiastes 6:3 German Bible

Alphabetical: A and be better burial but cannot child children does enjoy even fathers good have he his how however hundred I if is live lives long man many matter may miscarriage no not off proper prosperity receive satisfied say soul stillborn than that the then they things with years yet

OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 6:3 If a man fathers a hundred children (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) Bible Study Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools

Ecclesiastes 6:2
Top of Page
Top of Page