Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
Parallel translations
- WEB For all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
- KJV For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
- NKJV For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
- NASB Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.
- NLT Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A person's days are full of sorrow and grief, with no rest even at night. Earthly toil brings restless pain rather than lasting satisfaction.
Overview
The Preacher describes the relentless burden of labor that troubles even one's sleep. This vivid picture of unrest captures the futility of seeking peace through work alone. It stands in contrast to the rest Christ offers, who invites the weary and heavy-laden to come to Him and find rest for their souls.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
- Job 5:7Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
- Job 7:13–14When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
- Ps 127:2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
- Ps 6:6–7I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
- Esth 6:1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.
- Eccl 1:18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
- Ps 90:7–10For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath.
- Ps 32:4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
- Gen 47:9“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- Eccl 5:12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
- Dan 6:18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
- Ps 77:2–4In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Acts 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Ps 90:15Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.