Translation
As he came from his mother’s womb, he shall return to go as he came
Go to footnote number– naked; and he will not take anything from his troublesome toil which he can carry in his hand.
Paraphrase
The rich man’s life will come full circle; he came from that place beyond this life in one condition, to go to the place beyond this life in the same condition, possessing nothing, and he will take with him from all his pain-inducing work nothing that he can call his own.
Footnotes
1
The intent of this verse is quite obvious, but the way it is phrased is a bit awkward in English. The middle section of this verse literally says, “he shall return to go.” We all know that he is not returning to the womb, so the emphasis must be on his journey from and back to the place(s) beyond this life. The American phrase “come full circle” expresses it well in modern speech. The verb “return” and the infinitive “to go” seem redundant to us. This is probably a form of emphasis. In my paraphrase column I separate this verb and infinitive so they are not side by side and it seems to roll more smoothly off our tongues.