5:16a This too is a grievous evil:

This is also something bad which causes terrible suffering.
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This also is a painful tragedy. (God’s Word)

5:16b Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart.

People are born ⌊having nothing⌋ , just like they die ⌊keeping nothing⌋ .
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People leave this earth with nothing, as they came into it with nothing. (EEB)
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People leave this world just as they came. (English Easy-to-Read Version)

5:16c What does he gain as he toils for the wind?

So they do not gain anything. They work hard for nothing.
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They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit. (Translation for Translators)
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They live as if they were trying to catch the wind. But after all their work, they have nothing. (Easy English Bible)

© 2006 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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