What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
What proof hath a man of all his labour - i:e., "What profit" as to the chief good? (Matthew 16:26.) Labour is profitable in its proper place (Genesis 2:15; Genesis 3:19; Proverbs 14:23). "An man" - Hebrew, laadam; literally, 'the earthly one,' implying man's earthly frailty.
Under the sun? - i:e., in this life, as opposed to the future world. The phrase often recurs, but only in Ecclesiates.