Scripture · Old Testament
Ecclesiastes 11:8
Ecclesiastes 11:8 is verse 8 of Ecclesiastes chapter 11, shown here in the Berean Standard Bible.
Berean Standard Bible
So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
King James Version
But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
World English Bible
Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.
Read in context
Ecclesiastes 11:6–10 · Berean Standard Bible
6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 11Hebrew words
Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Study Ecclesiastes 11:8
Cross-references
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.
Ecclesiastes 6:6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
Ecclesiastes 8:12Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
Ecclesiastes 3:12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
Ecclesiastes 3:13and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 5:19Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:20For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 8:15So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 7:14In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
Ecclesiastes 12:1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
Ecclesiastes 12:2before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,
Ecclesiastes 12:3on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,
Ecclesiastes 12:4when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
Ecclesiastes 12:5when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels— for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets.
Deuteronomy 32:29If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
Job 10:22to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”
Job 14:10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
Job 15:23He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
Job 18:18He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.
Matthew 22:13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
John 12:35Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
Jude 1:18when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”
Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.
Ecclesiastes 2:2I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”
Ecclesiastes 2:3I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 2:4I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
Ecclesiastes 2:5I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees.
Ecclesiastes 2:6I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.
Ecclesiastes 2:7I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,
Ecclesiastes 2:8and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines.
Ecclesiastes 2:9So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.
Ecclesiastes 2:10Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:15So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:19And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
Ecclesiastes 2:21When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.
Ecclesiastes 2:22For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 2:23Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
Ecclesiastes 2:26To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 4:8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
Ecclesiastes 4:16There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 5:15As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
Ecclesiastes 5:16This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
Ecclesiastes 6:11For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?