Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Read all of Ecclesiastes 2

9 songs meet this passage

  • C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) [Radio Edit] · Wu-Tang Clan

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    The same weary question about the worth of hard-won toil and gain runs through Ecclesiastes' reflection on labor under the sun.

  • Treehouse · Derek Pope

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    The restless cycle of striving and sleeplessness without peace mirrors the Preacher's weary verdict on toil without rest.

  • A Bar Song (Tipsy) [Remix] · Shaboozey & David Guetta

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    The song's frustration with toil without reward mirrors the Preacher's own weary question about the point of hard labor.

  • “I been breakin' my back just keepin' up with the Joneses”

    Pour Me A Drink (feat. Blake Shelton) · Post Malone

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    Names the same weariness of toiling for status and comparison that Ecclesiastes names as fleeting and burdensome.

  • With or Without You · U2

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    The exhausted, unresolved longing captures the Preacher's own restless toil and striving without settled peace.

  • “Now your life is out of season”

    Master of Puppets · Metallica

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    Echoes the Preacher's lament over a life consumed and emptied by vain pursuit, here personified as addiction's toll.

  • “selling my soul working all day”

    Rich Men North of Richmond · Oliver Anthony Music

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    Captures the same ache of toil that wearies the soul without reward, a very old complaint given new words here.

  • “Up on the shore, they work all day”

    Under the Sea (Soundtrack Version) · Samuel E. Wright

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    Echoes the Preacher's weary observation of toil without rest, used here playfully to contrast human labor with carefree sea life.

  • “We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days”

    Through the Fire and Flames · DragonForce

    resonates with Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

    Echoes the ache of toil and loss without resolution, much like Qoheleth's lament over wasted labor and pain.

Each reading weighs one song’s words against Scripture. It is AI-assisted and can be wrong; open a song to see its whole reading and decide for yourself.

Elsewhere in Ecclesiastes 2