Ecclesiastes 6:5

Ecc 6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known [any thing]: this hath more rest than the other.

Ver. 5. Moreover he hath not seen the sun.] A second privilege and prerogative of the poor abortive. None are so miserable, we see, but they may be comparatively happy. It is ever best to look at those below us, and then we shall see cause to be better contented.

This hath more rest than the other.] The grain that is cropped as soon as it appeareth, or is bruised in pieces when it lies in sprout, is better than the old weed, that is hated while it standeth, and in the end is cut down for the fire.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rather, it hath not seen nor known the sun: this (the untimely birth) hath rest rather than the other.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He hath not seen the sun; he never beheld the light, and therefore it is not grievous to him to want it; whereas the covetous man saw that light was very pleasant, and therefore the loss of it was irksome to him.

Nor known any thing; hath had no knowledge, sense, or experience of any thing, whether good or evil.

Hath more rest, because he is perfectly free from all those encumbrances and vexatious to which the covetous man is long exposed.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Hath not seen the sun — All analogy suggests that human life begins with the soul, which builds up for itself a body by assimilating the materials furnished in its various conditions. The embryo enters into the rest of souls, where the wicked never trouble it, and its loss of sight and knowledge of the sun is compensated by its escape from earthly ill. Such is the sense of the verse. The sun should follow the word known.

Rest — In all the Old Testament, “rest” is used in an emphatic and comprehensive sense, as if including all worldly good.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It has seen nothing of the world, known nothing of life, its joys and its sufferings, and is speedily forgotten. To" see the sun" is a metaphor for to "live," as Ecc_7:11 Ecc_11:7; tw Job_3:16, and implies activity and work, the contrary of rest. This hath more rest than the other; literally, there is rest to this more than to that. The rest that belongs to the abortion is better than that which belongs to the rich man. Others take the clause to say simply, "It is better with this than the other." So the Revised Version margin and Delitzsch, the idea of "rest" being thus generalized, and taken to sights a preferable choice. Septuagint, Kaiseiv tou) uJper touton, "And hath not known rest for this more than that which reproduces the difficulty of the Hebrew; Vulgate, Neque cognovit distantiam boni et malt, which is a paraphrase unsupported by the present accentuation of the text. Rest, in the conception of an Oriental, is the most desirable or" all things; compared with the busy, careworn life of the rich man, whose very moments of leisure and sleep are troubled and disturbed, the dreamless nothingness of the still-born child is happiness. This may be a rhetorical exaggeration, but we have its parallel in Job"s lamentable cry in Ec 3 when he "cursed his day."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

More rest - Because he is free from all those encumbrances and vexations to which the covetuous man is long exposed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Even if a man should live for two thousand years

This is a hypothetical situation. This is also an exaggeration to show that it does not matter how long a person lives if he does not enjoy the good things in life. (See: Hypothetical Situations and Hyperbole and Generalization)

two thousand years

"2,000 years" (See: Numbers)

he goes to the same place as everyone else

This means that he dies like all other people. AT: "he dies and go to the same place as everyone else" or "he goes to the grave just like everyone else" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

know

rest

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.