God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 6:7
7Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied.
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 it has never seen the sun or known anything, the baby finds more rest than the rich person. 6Even if the rich person lives two thousand years without experiencing anything good—don’t we all go to the same place? Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied. 8What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life? 9It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 6Ecclesiastes 6:7 word by word
כָּל־עֲמַ֥ל הָאָדָ֖ם לְפִ֑יהוּ וְגַם־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ לֹ֥א תִמָּלֵֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:7
- Genesis 3:17Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’ The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat ⌞food that comes⌟ from it every day of your life.
- Proverbs 16:26A laborer’s appetite works to his advantage, because his hunger drives him on.
- Matthew 6:25“So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?
- John 6:27Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”
- 1 Timothy 6:6A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have.
- Ecclesiastes 6:3Suppose a rich person wasn’t satisfied with good things ⌞while he was alive⌟ and didn’t even get an honorable burial ⌞after he died⌟. Suppose he had a hundred children and lived for many years. No matter how long he would have lived, it ⌞still⌟ would have been better for him to have been born dead.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless.
- Luke 12:19Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life 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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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