Ecclesiastes 3:9
New International Version
What do workers gain from their toil?

New Living Translation
What do people really get for all their hard work?

English Standard Version
What gain has the worker from his toil?

Berean Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his toil?

King James Bible
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

New King James Version
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

New American Standard Bible
What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

NASB 1995
What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

NASB 1977
What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

Legacy Standard Bible
What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?

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

Christian Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his struggles?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his struggles?

American Standard Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?

Contemporary English Version
What do we gain by all our hard work?

English Revised Version
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
What do working people gain from their hard labor?

Good News Translation
What do we gain from all our work?

International Standard Version
What benefit does the worker gain from what he undertakes?

Majority Standard Bible
What does the worker gain from his toil?

NET Bible
What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?

New Heart English Bible
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?

Webster's Bible Translation
What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth?

World English Bible
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
What advantage does the doer have in that which he is laboring at?

Young's Literal Translation
What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

Smith's Literal Translation
What the excellence of him working in what he labored?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
What hath man more of his labour?

Catholic Public Domain Version
What more does a man have from his labor?

New American Bible
What profit have workers from their toil?

New Revised Standard Version
What gain have the workers from their toil?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
What profit has the worker in his labor?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
What profit has a son man in the work that he labors under the sun?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
What advantage has he that works in those things wherein he labours?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Works Remain Forever
9What does the worker gain from his toil? 10I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.…

Cross References
Genesis 3:17-19
And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. / Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. / By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

Romans 8:20-22
For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope / that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. / We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

Psalm 90:10
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Genesis 5:29
And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.”

Job 7:1-2
“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? / Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” / For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies. / We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living.

Psalm 127:1-2
A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. / In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. / But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. / For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Proverbs 14:23
There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

1 Corinthians 3:8-9
He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. / For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Isaiah 55:2
Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men, / because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Job 5:6-7
For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground. / Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

Luke 12:15-21
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” / Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. / So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ...


Treasury of Scripture

What profit has he that works in that wherein he labors?

Ecclesiastes 1:3
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 2:11,22,23
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun…

Ecclesiastes 5:16
And 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?

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Advantage Doer Gain Labors Labouring Profit Toil Toils Wherein Work Worker Worketh Works
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Ecclesiastes 3
1. by the necessary change of times, vanity is added to human travail
11. is an excellence in God's works
16. as for man, God shall judge his works hereafter, though here he be like a beast














What does
This phrase introduces a rhetorical question, a common literary device in wisdom literature, which invites the reader to ponder deeply. The Hebrew root here is "mah," often used to provoke thought or reflection. It sets the stage for introspection, urging believers to consider the ultimate purpose and value of their actions and efforts in life.

the worker
The term "worker" translates from the Hebrew word "po'al," which refers to one who labors or toils. In the context of Ecclesiastes, it represents humanity's universal condition of laboring under the sun. Historically, this term would encompass a wide range of activities, from agricultural work to craftsmanship, reflecting the diverse ways people engage with creation. It reminds us of the dignity and value of work as ordained by God, yet also its limitations in providing ultimate fulfillment.

gain
The word "gain" comes from the Hebrew "yitron," which implies profit or advantage. This term is central to the book's exploration of life's meaning. It challenges the reader to consider what lasting benefit or eternal value can be derived from earthly endeavors. In a conservative Christian perspective, this invites reflection on the eternal versus the temporal, encouraging believers to seek treasures in heaven rather than solely on earth.

from his toil
"Toil" is translated from the Hebrew "amal," which conveys a sense of laborious effort, often accompanied by hardship or struggle. This reflects the post-Fall reality of work, as described in Genesis 3:17-19, where labor is marked by sweat and difficulty. The phrase underscores the futility and transient nature of human efforts when disconnected from God's eternal purposes. It serves as a reminder that while toil is part of the human condition, it is through Christ that our labor finds true meaning and redemption.

Verse 9. - If thus man, in all his actions and under all circumstances, depends upon time and seasons which are beyond his control, we return to the same desponding question already asked in Ecclesiastes 1:3. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth? The preceding enumeration leads up to this question, to which the answer is "None." Since time and tide wait for no man, since man cannot know for certain his opportunity, he cannot reckon on reaping any advantage from his labor.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
What
מַה־ (mah-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

does the worker
הָֽעוֹשֶׂ֔ה (hā·‘ō·w·śeh)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

gain
יִּתְרוֹן֙ (yiṯ·rō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3504: Preeminence, gain

from his
ה֥וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

toil?
עָמֵֽל׃ (‘ā·mêl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6001: Toiling, a laborer, sorrowful


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit has he who works (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
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