Ecclesiastes 1:3

All Toil Is Profitless And Repetitious

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“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
“Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].” ³ 
What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does under the sun (while earthbound)?
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One generation goes and another generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.

On Earth

Under the Sun

Ecclesiastes 2:11

Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 3:9

What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

Ecclesiastes 5:16

This also is a grievous evil—exactly as he was born, so he shall die. So what advantage has he who labors for the wind?

Ecclesiastes 2:22

For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

Proverbs 23:4-5

Do not weary yourself [with the overwhelming desire] to gain wealth;
Cease from your own understanding of it.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

Ecclesiastes 4:3

But better off than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 4:7

Then I looked again at vanity under the sun [in one of its peculiar forms].

Ecclesiastes 5:18

Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

Ecclesiastes 6:12

For who [limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?

Ecclesiastes 7:11

Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an [excellent] advantage for those who see the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15-17

Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.

Ecclesiastes 9:6

Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:13

This [illustration of] wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and great it was to me:

Isaiah 55:2

“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,
And your earnings for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight in abundance.

Habakkuk 2:13

“Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples labor [only] for the fire [that will destroy their work],
And nations grow weary for nothing [that is, things which have no lasting value]?

Habakkuk 2:18

“What profit is the carved image when its maker has formed it?
It is only a cast image, and a teacher of lies.
For its maker trusts in his own creation [as his god]
When he makes speechless idols.

Matthew 16:26

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 8:36-37

For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul?

John 6:27

Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures [and leads] to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for God the Father has authorized Him and put His seal on Him.”