16A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?


In Context

13 There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.

14 For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.

15 As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.

16 A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?

17 All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.

18 This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion.

Ecclesiastes 5:16 in Other Translations

The King James Version of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also [is] a sore evil, [that] in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

The New International Version of the Holy Bible

5:16This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind?

The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?

The Darby Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?

The English Revised Version of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboureth for the wind?

The Webster Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?

The World English Bible Translation of the Holy Bible

5:16This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?

The Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage is to him who laboureth for wind?

The American King James Version of the Holy Bible

5:16And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit has he that has labored for the wind?