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

5and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. 6He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use? All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. 8So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others? 9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing 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 to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
• Proverbs 16:26It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on.
• Matthew 6:25“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
• John 6:27But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
• 1 Timothy 6:6Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
• Ecclesiastes 6:3A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
• Luke 12:19And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

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