Ecclesiastes 5:16
Old Testament • 8 words with Strong's data
"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?"
Word-by-Word Analysis
מְאֹד
mᵉʼôd
properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or ...
רַע
raʻ
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)
עֻמָּה
ʻummâh
conjunction, i.e. society; mostly adverb or preposition (with prepositional prefix), near, beside, along with
בּוֹא
bôwʼ
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
יָלַךְ
yâlak
to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
יַעַל
yaʻal
properly, to ascend; figuratively, to be valuable (objectively; useful, subjectively; benefited)
עָמַל
ʻâmal
to toil, i.e. work severely and with irksomeness
רוּחַ
rûwach
wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the ...
Key Terms in This Verse
עֻמָּה ʻummâh
conjunction, i.e. society; mostly adverb or preposition (with prepositional prefix), near, beside, along with
Study H5980 →יַעַל yaʻal
properly, to ascend; figuratively, to be valuable (objectively; useful, subjectively; benefited)
Study H3276 →מְאֹד mᵉʼôd
properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated)
Study H3966 →רוּחַ rûwach
wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational...
Study H7307 →יָלַךְ yâlak
to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
Study H3212 →Cross References
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not pr...
And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
Related Passages
Welcome to LOGOS Study
Your complete Bible study toolkit