Ecclesiastes 1:8

Ecclesiastes 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
• New International Version (NIV)All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:8

6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. 7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow. All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. 9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 word by word

כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים יְגֵעִ֔ים לֹא־יוּכַ֥ל אִ֖ישׁ לְדַבֵּ֑ר לֹא־תִשְׂבַּ֥ע עַ֙יִן֙ לִרְא֔וֹת וְלֹא־תִמָּלֵ֥א אֹ֖זֶן מִשְּׁמֹֽעַ׃Read the interlinear

• Allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• thingsדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• are wearisomeיָגֵעַyâgêa‛ · wearyH3023
• moreלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• moreיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• than oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• can describeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• the eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with seeingרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• contentמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• with hearingשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
• Matthew 11:28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
• Romans 8:22We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.
• Ecclesiastes 4:1Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.
• Ecclesiastes 7:24What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
• Ecclesiastes 4:8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
• Psalms 63:5My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
• Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
• Proverbs 30:15The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
• Matthew 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
• Revelation 7:16‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8All things are full of labor - It is; impossible to calculate how much anxiety, pain, labor, and fatigue are necessary in order to carry on the common operations of life. But an endless desire of gain, and an endless curiosity to unfitness a variety of results, cause men to, labor on. The eye sees much, but wishes to, see more. The ear hears of many things; but is curious to have the actual knowledge of them. So desire and curiosity carry men, under the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8All things … utter it - This clause, as here translated, refers to the immensity of labor. Others translate it, “all words are full of labor; they make weary the hearers,” or “are feeble or insufficient” to tell the whole; and are referred to the impossibility of adequately describing labor.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-8Verses 4-8 All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8The sea is never full, and we are never satisfied. This image shows how life can feel unfulfilling.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Maurer translates, "All words are wearied out," that is, are inadequate, as also, "man cannot express" all the things in the world which undergo this ceaseless, changeless cycle of vicissitudes: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing them," &c. But it is plainly a return to the idea (Ec 1:3) as to man's "labor," which is only wearisome and profitless; "no new" good can accrue from it (Ec 1:9); for as the sun, &c., so man's laborious works move in a…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Covetousness
• Eye
• Man
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Sun
• Vanity
• Labor
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings