Ecclesiastes 5:17

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15 ^aAs he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And ^awhat profit has he ^bwho has labored for the wind?

17 All his days ^ahe also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

18 Here is what I have seen: ^aIt is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; ^bfor it is his heritage.

19 As for ^aevery man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his¹ heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the ^bgift of God.

20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Ecclesiastes 5:17

All his days also he eateth in darkness - Even his enjoyments are embittered by uncertainty. He fears for his goods; the possibility of being deprived of them fills his heart with anguish. But instead of yochel , "he shall eat," yelech , "he shall walk," is the reading of several MSS. He walks in darkness - he has no evidence of salvation. There is no ray of light from God to penetrate the gloom; and all beyond life is darkness impenetrable!

And wrath with his sickness - His last hours are awful; for,

"Counting on long years of pleasure here,

He' s quite unfurnish' d for the world to come."

Blair.

He is full of anguish at the thought of death; but the fear of it is horrible. But if he have a sense of God' s wrath in his guilty conscience, what horror can be compared with his horror!

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