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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:8

6The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

Ecclesiastes 1:8 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• All thingsדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• full of labourיָגֵעַyâgêa‛ · wearyH3023
• manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• utterדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• the eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• is not satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• with seeingרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• nor the earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• with hearingשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
• Matthew 11:28“Come 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 as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
• Ecclesiastes 4:1Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.
• Ecclesiastes 7:24Whatever exists is far off and most profound— who can discover it?
• Ecclesiastes 4:8There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
• Ecclesiastes 5:10Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
• Psalms 63:5I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
• Proverbs 27:20Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.
• Proverbs 30:15“The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “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; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on 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