Ecclesiastes 6:5 Ulasan

In this chapter, I. The royal preacher goes on further to show the vanity of worldly wealth, when men place their happiness in it and are eager and inordinate in laying it up. Riches, in the hands of a man that is wise and generous, and good for something, but in the hands of a sordid, sneaking, covetous miser, they are good for nothing. 1. He takes an account of the possessions and enjoyments which such a man may have. He has wealth (Ecc 6:2), he has children to inherit it (Ecc 6:3), and lives long (Ecc 6:3, Ecc 6:6). 2. He describes his folly in not taking the comfort of it; he has no power to eat of it, lets strangers devour it, is never filled with good, and at last has no burial (Ecc 6:2, Ecc 6:3). 3. He condemns it as an evil, a common evil, vanity, and a disease (Ecc 6:1, Ecc 6:2). 4. He prefers the condition of a still-born child before the condition of such a one (Ecc 6:3). The still-born child's infelicity is only negative (Ecc 6:4, Ecc 6:5), but that of the covetous worldling is positive; he lives a great while to see himself miserable (Ecc 6:6). 5. He shows the vanity of riches as pertaining only to the body, and giving no satisfaction to the mind (Ecc 6:7, Ecc 6:8), and of those boundless desires with which covetous people vex themselves (Ecc 6:9), which, if they be gratified ever so fully, leave a man but a man still (Ecc 6:10). II. He concludes this discourse of the vanity of the creature with this plain inference from the whole, That it is folly to think of making up a happiness for ourselves in the things of this world (Ecc 6:11, Ecc 6:12). Our satisfaction must be in another life, not in this.

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 6 The wise man goes on to expose the vanity of riches, as possessed by a covetous man, who makes no use of them; an evil, and a common one under the sun, Ecc 6:1; Who is described by the good things he has; which he has not a power to enjoy, but a stranger enjoys them, Ecc 6:2; by his numerous offspring and long life; yet neither is he satisfied with good in life, nor has he a burial at death; wherefore an abortive is preferred unto him, Ecc 6:3; For though many things may be said of that which are disagreeable, yet worse of him, and that has more rest than he; and besides, they both go to one place, the grave, Ecc 6:4; and the vanity of an anxious labour for riches is further argued from the use of them, at most and best, which is only for the body, and the sustenance of it, but cannot satisfy the mind or soul, Ecc 6:7; and this use a fool can make of, them, as well as a wise man; and a poor man, that is knowing, diligent, and industrious to live, as well as the rich, Ecc 6:8. Wherefore it is best to enjoy and be content with present mercies, than to let loose the wandering desires after what may never be had, Ecc 6:9; and especially it should be considered, that let a man be in what circumstances he will, he is but a man; and these circumstances are determined and appointed by God, which he cannot alter; and therefore it is both vain and sinful to contend with him, Ecc 6:10. And, after all, a man is never the better for his carking cares and wandering desires, since there are so many things that increase vanity, Ecc 6:11; and a man is so ignorant of what is good for him for the present, and of what shall be after him, Ecc 6:12.

Moreover, he hath not seen the sun,.... This must be spoken of the abortive, and seems to confirm the sense of the former text, as belonging to it; and whereas it has never seen the light of the sun, nor enjoyed the pleasure and comfort of it, it is no ways distressing to it to be without it. The Targum is, "the light of the law he seeth not; and knoweth not between good and evil, to judge between this world and that to come:'' so the Vulgate Latin version, "neither knows the difference of good and evil"; nor known anything; not the sun, nor anything else: or "experienced" (z) and "felt" the heat of the sun, and its comfortable influences; which a man may, who is blind, and has never seen it, but an abortive has not; and indeed has known no man, nor any creature nor thing in this world, and therefore it is no concern to it to be without them; and besides, has never had any knowledge or experience of the troubles of lifts, which every living man is liable to. Wherefore this is certain, this hath more rest than the other; that is, the abortive than the covetous man; having never been distressed with the troubles of life, and now not affected with the sense of loss. (z) "ueque expertus est", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rambachius, so Broughton.

"There is an evil I have observed beneath the sun, and it is prevalent among mankind; a man to whom God has given riches, wealth and honour, and he lacks nothing that his heart could desire, yet God did not give him the power to enjoy it. This is futility and an evil disease. If a man begets an hundred children and lives many years - great being the days of his life - and his soul is not content with the good - and he even is deprived of burial; I say: the stillborn is better off than he. Though its coming is futile and it departs in darkness, though its very name is enveloped in darkness, though it never saw the sun nor knew; it has more satisfaction than he. Even if he should live a thousand years twice over, but find no contentment - do not all go to the same place?" He describes the riches of misers and asserts that this evil is often in men, since none of those things, which are thought to be good in the world, is lacking in him, and nonetheless he torments himself with the most inane sparing, saving those things to be devoured by others. Nor does he say this in exaggeration, for even if he produced an hundred books and lived longer than Adam, that is almost one thousand years, but lived two thousand years, he would rot his mind with desire and avarice. He is born prematurely in a worse state that dies, as soon as he seems born. For he did not see evil things or good things; but although he used to possess good things, he was tormented by thoughts and sadness, and having been born prematurely he has more rest, than a greedy man who is old. But both however are seized by the same fate, while both the first and the last are taken away by the same death. This could also refer to Israel, because God gave Israel the law, which speaks about the prophets, the testament, the Promised Land and the Saviour: "let the reign of God be removed from you and given to a nation that brings forth his fruit" [Matth. 21, 43.]. All these things have been given to a foreign and pilgrim people from peoples who see their good yet do not enjoy it. They say we are of much better condition, who are considered to be as new-born and premature by those, who praised themselves in antiquity, finding glory in their fathers, saying: "our father was Abraham" [Ioh. 8, 39.], but however both we and they hasten to one place, that is to the judgement of God. But what Ecclesiastes says in the middle is this: "but there was no tomb for him". This either means that that rich man does not think of his death, and while he possesses all, is greedy even in building a tomb; or that often he is killed on account of those riches, by plots against his life, and is left unburied, or, what I think is a better interpretation, he needs nothing of good deeds, from which he is able to obtain for himself memory among those who come after him. And so that he will not pass through life in silence, just as cattle, although he had a means, by which he was able to show that he had lived.

(Ecc 6:1-12) common--or else more literally,--"great upon man," falls heavily upon man.

this--yet "it has more rest than" the toiling, gloomy miser.

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and in great weight it lies upon man: a man to whom God giveth riches, and treasures, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he may wish, but God giveth him not power to have enjoyment of it, for a strange man hath the enjoyment: that is vanity and an evil disease." The author presents the result of personal observation; but inasmuch as he relates it in the second tense, he generalizes the matter, and places it scenically before the eyes of the reader. A similar introduction with ישׁ, but without the unnecessary asher, is found at Ecc 5:12; Ecc 10:5. Regarding בּה, vid., under Ecc 8:6; על does not denote the subj., as at Ecc 2:17 : it appears great to a man, but it has its nearest lying local meaning; it is a great (Ecc 2:21) evil, pressing in its greatness heavily upon man. The evil is not the man himself, but the condition in which he is placed, as when, e.g., the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant (Mat 13:45.), - not the merchant in himself, but his conduct and life is a figure of the kingdom of heaven.