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

6The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about to the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to its circuits. 7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it : the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10Is there any thing of which it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was 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

• thingsדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• labourיָגֵעַyâgêa‛ · wearyH3023
• manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• utterדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• seeingרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• hearingשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:8

• Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
• Matthew 11:28Come to me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
• Romans 8:22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
• Ecclesiastes 4:1So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
• Ecclesiastes 7:24That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?
• Ecclesiastes 4:8There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a grievous labour.
• Ecclesiastes 5:10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
• Psalms 63:5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
• Proverbs 27:20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
• Proverbs 30:15The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
• Matthew 5:6Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled.
• Revelation 7:16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light 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