Ecclesiastes 6:7

Ecclesiastes 6:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
• New International Version (NIV)Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:7

5Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he. 6And if a person lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place? All of a person’s labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied. 8What advantage then does the wise person have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others? 9Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 word by word

כָּל־עֲמַ֥ל הָאָדָ֖ם לְפִ֑יהוּ וְגַם־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ לֹ֥א תִמָּלֵֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All the labourעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• for his mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• and yet the appetiteנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• is not filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:7

• Genesis 3:17And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life.
• Proverbs 16:26A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on.
• Matthew 6:25“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?
• John 6:27Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”
• 1 Timothy 6:6But godliness with contentment is great gain.
• Ecclesiastes 6:3A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
• Luke 12:19Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7All the labor of man - This is the grand primary object of all human labor; merely to provide for the support of life by procuring things necessary. And life only exists for the sake of the soul; because man puts these things in place of spiritual good, the appetite - the intense desire after the supreme good - is not satisfied. When man learns to provide as distinctly for his soul as he does for his body, then he will begin to be happy, and may soon…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 Connect these verses with Ecclesiastes 6:2-3: “All labor is undertaken with a view to some profit, but as a rule the people who labor are never satisfied. What advantage then has he who labors if (being rich) he is wise, or if being poor he knows how to conduct himself properly; what advantage have such laborers above a fool? (None, so far as they are without contentment, for) a thing present before the eyes is preferable to a future which…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The poor man has comfort as well as the richest, and is under no real disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the resting of the soul in God; for it is better to live by faith in things to come, than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7People often feel unsatisfied with what they have, regardless of the amount (compare Ecclesiastes 5:10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. man--rather, "the man," namely, the miser (Ec 6:3-6). For not all men labor for the mouth, that is, for selfish gratification. appetite--Hebrew, "the soul." The insatiability of the desire prevents that which is the only end proposed in toils, namely, self-gratification; "the man" thus gets no "good" out of his wealth (Ec 6:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:7

• Contentment

In the dictionaries

• Appetite
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings