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

6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. 7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. 9That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were 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
• Manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• is not ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to tellדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• The eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• is not satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with seeingרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• Norלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• is the earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• with hearingשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Ecclesiastes 2:11Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
• Matthew 11:28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
• Romans 8:22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
• Ecclesiastes 4:1Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.
• Ecclesiastes 7:24What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it?
• Ecclesiastes 4:8There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.
• Psalms 63:5My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
• Proverbs 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
• Proverbs 30:15The leech has two daughters, “Give,” “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:
• Matthew 5:6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
• Revelation 7:16They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any 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