A frequent misinterpretation of Ecclesiastes 6:4 is to view it as endorsing abortion, euthanasia, or the idea that non-existence is preferable to life, often ignoring the broader context of Qoheleth's lament over vanity where the stillborn's 'darkness' represents merciful oblivion compared specifically to an affluent yet joyless longevity; it neither prescribes ending life nor devalues all human existence but critiques lives lacking God's-given satisfaction amid inevitable futility.
Ecclesiastes 6:4
King James Version (1769)
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
Ecclesiastes 6:4 portrays the poignant brevity of a stillborn child's existence, arriving 'with vanity' into a world it never truly knows and departing 'in darkness' without a name or legacy, emphasizing that such unawareness and obscurity provide greater rest than a long life burdened by unfulfilled desires and the sorrows of toil, as contrasted with the miserable rich man in the preceding verses who sees the sun but gains no enjoyment from his abundance.