KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Ecclesiastes 5:16 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“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?”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “And this” | זֹה֙ | This or that | And this |
| “also” | וְגַם | Properly, assemblage; used only adverbially also, even, yea, though; often repeated as correl. both...and | also |
| “is” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “a sore” | חוֹלָ֔ה | Properly, to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to be weak, sick, afflicted; or (causatively) to grieve, make sick | sore |
| “evil,” | רָעָ֣ה | Bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) | evil |
| “that” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “in all” | כָּל | Properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense) | all |
| “points” | עֻמַּ֥ת | Conjunction, i.e., society; mostly adverb or preposition (with prepositional prefix), near, beside, along with | points |
| “as he came,” | שֶׁבָּ֖א | To go or come (in a wide variety of applications) | came |
| “so” | כֵּ֣ן | Properly, set upright; hence (figuratively as adjective) just; but usually (as adverb or conjunction) rightly or so (in various applications to manner, time and relation; often with other particles) | so |
| “shall he go:” | יֵלֵ֑ךְ | To walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively) | go |
| “and what” | וּמַה | Properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses | and what |
| “profit” | יִּתְר֣וֹן | Preeminence, gain | profit |
| “hath he that hath laboured” | שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל | To toil, i.e., work severely and with irksomeness | laboured |
| “for the wind?” | לָרֽוּחַ׃ | 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 being (including its expression and functions) | wind |
See Ecclesiastes 5:16 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
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?
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.