Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 2:21
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.
Word by word
Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.
| English | Hebrew | Sounds like | Grammar | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When | כִּי־ | kî- | Conjunction | H3588 burning, branding |
| there is | יֵ֣שׁ | yêš | Adverb | H3426 being, substance, existence |
| a man | אָדָ֗ם | ’ā·ḏām | Noun - masculine singular | H120 man, mankind |
| who has labored | שֶׁעֲמָל֛וֹ | še·‘ă·mā·lōw | Pronoun - relative; Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular; third person masculine singular | H5999 trouble, labour, toil |
| with wisdom | בְּחָכְמָ֥ה | bə·ḥā·ḵə·māh | Preposition-b; Noun - feminine singular | H2451 wisdom |
| knowledge | וּבְדַ֖עַת | ū·ḇə·ḏa·‘aṯ | Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b; Noun - feminine singular | H1847 knowledge |
| and skill | וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹן | ū·ḇə·ḵiš·rō·wn | Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b; Noun - masculine singular | H3788 skill, success |
| and he must give | יִתְּנֶ֣נּוּ | yit·tə·nen·nū | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular; third person masculine singular | H5414 give, put, set |
| his portion | חֶלְק֔וֹ | ḥel·qōw | Noun - masculine singular construct; third person masculine singular | H2506 portion, tract, territory |
| to a man | וּלְאָדָ֞ם | ū·lə·’ā·ḏām | Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l; Noun - masculine singular | H120 man, mankind |
| who has not | שֶׁלֹּ֤א | šel·lō | Pronoun - relative; Adverb - Negative particle | H3808 not |
| worked | עָֽמַל־ | ‘ā·mal- | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | H5998 labour, toil |
| for it | בּוֹ֙ | bōw | Preposition; third person masculine singular | |
| this | זֶ֥ה | zeh | Pronoun - masculine singular | H2088 this, that |
| too | גַּם־ | gam- | Conjunction | H1571 also, moreover, yea |
| is futile | הֶ֖בֶל | he·ḇel | Noun - masculine singular | H1892 vapour, breath |
| and a great | רַבָּֽה׃ | rab·bāh | Adjective - feminine singular | H7227 much, many, great |
| evil | וְרָעָ֥ה | wə·rā·‘āh | Conjunctive waw; Adjective - feminine singular | H7451 bad, evil |
Cross-references
Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.