Ecclesiastes 6:5
New International Version
Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—

New Living Translation
and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man.

English Standard Version
Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he.

Berean Standard Bible
The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

King James Bible
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.

New King James Version
Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,

New American Standard Bible
It has not even seen the sun nor does it know it; yet it is better off than that man.

NASB 1995
“It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.

NASB 1977
“It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.

Legacy Standard Bible
Indeed, that one never sees the sun and never knows anything; that one has more rest than he.

Amplified Bible
It has not seen the sun nor had any knowledge; yet it has more rest and is better off than he.

Christian Standard Bible
Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

American Standard Version
moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Also he does not see the sun and he knows no rest, one no more than the other

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known rest: there is no more rest to this one than another.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil:

English Revised Version
moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, the baby finds more rest than the rich person.

Good News Translation
It never sees the light of day or knows what life is like, but at least it has found rest--

International Standard Version
Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything, they are more content than the other.

JPS Tanakh 1917
moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath gratification rather than the other;

Literal Standard Version
even the sun he has not seen nor known, more rest has this than that.

Majority Standard Bible
The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

New American Bible
though it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet the dead child has more peace.

NET Bible
though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything, yet it has more rest than that man--

New Revised Standard Version
moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he.

New Heart English Bible
Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other.

Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.

World English Bible
Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest rather than the other.

Young's Literal Translation
Even the sun he hath not seen nor known, more rest hath this than that.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Futility of Life
4For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. 5The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, 6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?…

Cross References
Ecclesiastes 6:4
For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

Ecclesiastes 6:6
even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

Ecclesiastes 11:7
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.


Treasury of Scripture

Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this has more rest than the other.

this

Job 3:10-13
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes…

Job 14:1
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

Psalm 58:8
As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

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Better Finds Gratification Moreover Rather Rest Sun
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Better Finds Gratification Moreover Rather Rest Sun
Ecclesiastes 6
1. the vanity of riches without use
3. though a man have many children and a long life
7. the vanity of sight and wandering desires
10. The conclusion of vanities














Verse 5. - It has seen nothing of the world, known nothing of life, its joys and its sufferings, and is speedily forgotten. To" see the sun" is a metaphor for to "live," as Ecclesiastes 7:11; Ecclesiastes 11:7; Job 3:16, and implies activity and work, the contrary of rest. This hath more rest than the other; literally, there is rest to this more than to that. The rest that belongs to the abortion is better than that which belongs to the rich man. Others take the clause to say simply, "It is better with this than the other." So the Revised Version margin and Delitzsch, the idea of "rest" being thus generalized, and taken to sights a preferable choice. Septuagint, Καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω ἀναπαύσεις τούτῳ ὑπὲρ τοῦτον, "And hath not known rest for this more than that " - which reproduces the difficulty of the Hebrew; Vulgate, Neque cognovit distantiam boni et malt, which is a paraphrase unsupported by the present accentuation of the text. Rest, in the conception of an Oriental, is the most desirable or' all things; compared with the busy, careworn life of the rich man, whose very moments of leisure and sleep are troubled and disturbed, the dreamless nothingness of the still-born child is happiness. This may be a rhetorical exaggeration, but we have its parallel in Job's lamentable cry in Ecclesiastes 3. when he "cursed his day."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[A stillborn child]
לָזֶ֖ה (lā·zeh)
Preposition-l | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

has more rest
נַ֥חַת (na·ḥaṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5183: A descent, imposition, unfavorable, favorable, restfulness

than he—
מִזֶּֽה׃ (miz·zeh)
Preposition-m | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

though
גַּם־ (gam-)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

never
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

seeing
רָאָ֖ה (rā·’āh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the sun
שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ (še·meš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement

or
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

knowing anything—
יָדָ֑ע (yā·ḏā‘)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 6:5 Moreover it has not seen the sun (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
Ecclesiastes 6:4
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