Ecclesiastes Chapter 5 verse 16 Holy Bible
And 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?
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All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.
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And 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?
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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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This 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?
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And this also `is' a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage `is' to him who laboureth for wind?
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 16. - This also is a sore evil. The thought of ver. 15 is emphatically repeated. In all points as he came; i.e. naked, helpless. And what profit hath he that laboreth for the wind? The answer is emphatically "nothing." We have had similar questions in Ecclesiastes 1:3; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Ecclesiastes 3:9. To labor for the wind is to toil with no result, like the "feeding on wind, pursuing of vanity," which is the key-note of the book. The wind is the type of all that is empty, delusive, unsubstantial. In Proverbs 11:29 we have the phrase, "to inherit the wind." Job calls futile arguments "words of wind" (Job 16:3; Job 15:2). Thus the Greek proverb Ἀνέμους θ᾿ρᾶν ἐν δικτύος to try to catch the wind:" and the Latin, "Ventos pascere," and "Ventos colere "(see Erasmus, 'Adag.,' s.v. "Inanis opera"). Septuagint, Καὶ τίς ἡ περίσσεια αὐτοῦ η΅ι μοχθεῖ εἰς ἄνεμον; "And what is his gain for which he labors for the wind?"
