Ecclesiastes 6:9

Ecclesiastes 6:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
• New International Version (NIV)Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:9

7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach – yet his appetite is never satisfied! 8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile – like chasing the wind. 10Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is. 11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

Ecclesiastes 6:9 word by word

ט֛וֹב מַרְאֵ֥ה עֵינַ֖יִם מֵֽהֲלָךְ־נָ֑פֶשׁ גַּם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• the sightמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• of the eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• than the wanderingהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• of the desireנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• also vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• and vexationרְעוּתre‛ûth · longingH7469
• of spiritרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:9

• Ecclesiastes 2:24There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.
• Ecclesiastes 3:12I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
• Ecclesiastes 5:18I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.
• Job 31:7If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands,
• Proverbs 30:15The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough” –
• Jeremiah 2:20“Indeed, long ago you threw off my authority and refused to be subject to me. You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill and under every green tree, like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers.
• Ecclesiastes 6:2God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor – instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.
• Ecclesiastes 1:2“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
• Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless – like chasing the wind.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire - This is translated by the Vulgate, as a sort of adage: Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias, "It is better to see what one desires than to covet what one knows not." It is better to enjoy the present than to feed one's self with vain desires of the future. What we translate the wandering of desire, נפש מהלך mehaloch nephesh, is the travelling of the soul. What is…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. 8-9What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool?: They have an advantage if they enjoy and are content with what the Lord has given them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Answer to the question in Ec 6:8. This is the advantage: Better is the sight of the eyes--the wise man's godly enjoyment of present seen blessings than the (fool's) wandering--literally, walking (Psa 73:9), of the desire, that is, vague, insatiable desires for what he has not (Ec 6:7; He 13:5). this--restless wandering of desire, and not enjoying contentedly the present (1Ti 6:6, 8).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:9

• Contentment

In the dictionaries

• 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