Ecclesiastes 6:4

he cometh in with vanity The pronoun in the English Version refers the clause to the man who has heaped up riches, and had a long life with no real enjoyment. Probably, however, the words describe, in harmony with the thought of the preceding verse, the portion of the still-born child. It comes and goes, and is forgotten, and never sees the sun, and tastes not the misery of life. The last clause of Ecclesiastes 6:5, there is rest to this rather than to that ("rest" idealised, as in Job 3:13, as in itself all but the supreme good that man can strive after), seems to make this construction certain. Possibly, however, the description of Ecclesiastes 6:4 is made to apply in part to both terms of the comparison, so that it may be seen, on which side, both having so much in common, the balance of advantage lies. On "seeing the sun" as an equivalent for living, see chs. Ecclesiastes 7:11; Ecclesiastes 11:7; Job 3:16; Psalms 49:20.