Ecclesiastes 6:3-5

Context

6:3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years –

even if he lives a long, long time,¹ but cannot enjoy his prosperity –

even if he were to live forever² –

I would say, “A stillborn child³ is better off than he is!”⁴

6:4 Though the stillborn child⁵ came into the world⁶ for no reason⁷ and departed into darkness,

though its name is shrouded in darkness,⁸

6:5 though it never saw the light of day⁹ nor knew anything,¹⁰

yet it has more rest¹¹ than that man –

[6:3] ¹tn Heb “the days of his years are many.”

[6:3] ²tn Heb “he has no burial.” The phrase וְגַם־קְבוּרָה לֹא־הָיְתָה (vÿgam-qÿvurah lo’-haytah, “he even has no burial”) is traditionally treated as part of a description of the man’s sorry final state, that is, he is deprived of even a proper burial (KJV, NEB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, MLB, Moffatt). However, the preceding parallel lines suggest that this a hyperbolic protasis: “If he were to live one hundred years…even if he were never buried [i.e., were to live forever]….” A similar idea occurs elsewhere (e.g., Pss 49:9; 89:48). See D. R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 990.

[6:3] ³tn The noun נֶפֶל (nefel) denotes “miscarriage” and by metonymy of effect, “stillborn child” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Job 3:16; Eccl 6:3); cf. HALOT 711. The noun is related to the verb נָפַל (nafal, “to fall,” but occasionally “to be born”; see Isa 26:18); cf. HALOT 710 s.v. נפל 5.

[6:3] ⁴sn The point of 6:3-6 is that the futility of unenjoyed wealth is worse than the tragedy of being stillborn.

[6:4] ⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (“the stillborn child”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:4] ⁶tn The phrase “into the world” does not appear in Hebrew, but is added in the translation for clarity.

[6:4] ⁷sn The birth of the stillborn was in vain – it did it no good to be born.

[6:4] ⁸sn The name of the stillborn is forgotten.

[6:5] ⁹tn Heb “it never saw the sun.”

[6:5] ¹⁰tn The word “anything” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:5] ¹¹sn The Hebrew term translated rest here refers to freedom from toil, anxiety, and misery – part of the miserable misfortune that the miserly man of wealth must endure.