Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Everyone's toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied. New Living Translation All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. English Standard Version All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. Berean Study Bible All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. New American Standard Bible All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. New King James Version All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied. King James Bible All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. Christian Standard Bible All of a person's labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied. Contemporary English Version We struggle just to have enough to eat, but we are never satisfied. Good News Translation We do all our work just to get something to eat, but we never have enough. Holman Christian Standard Bible All man's labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied. International Standard Version Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied. NET Bible All of man's labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach--yet his appetite is never satisfied! New Heart English Bible All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. GOD'S WORD® Translation Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied. JPS Tanakh 1917 All the labour of man is for his mouth, And yet the appetite is not filled. New American Standard 1977 All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. Jubilee Bible 2000 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and with all this the appetite is not filled. King James 2000 Bible All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. American King James Version All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. American Standard Version All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. Brenton Septuagint Translation All the labour of a man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite shall not be satisfied. Douay-Rheims Bible All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be filled. Darby Bible Translation All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. English Revised Version All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. Webster's Bible Translation All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. World English Bible All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. Young's Literal Translation All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled. Study Bible The Futility of Life…6if he lives a thousand years twice over, but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? 7All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. 8What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?… Cross References Proverbs 16:26 A worker's appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward. Ecclesiastes 6:8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? Treasury of Scripture All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. the labour Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; … Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him. Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? appetite Ecclesiastes 6:3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Luke 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Lexicon Allכָּל־ (kāl-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's Hebrew 3605: The whole, all, any, every a man’s הָאָדָ֖ם (hā·’ā·ḏām) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 120: Ruddy, a human being labor עֲמַ֥ל (‘ă·mal) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's Hebrew 5999: Toil, wearing effort, worry, wheth, of body, mind [is] for his mouth, לְפִ֑יהוּ (lə·p̄î·hū) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to yet וְגַם־ (wə·ḡam-) Conjunctive waw | Conjunction Strong's Hebrew 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and his appetite הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ (han·ne·p̄eš) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's Hebrew 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion is never לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's Hebrew 3808: Not, no satisfied. תִמָּלֵֽא׃ (ṯim·mā·lê) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's Hebrew 4390: To fill, be full of Verses 7-9. - Section 10. Desire is insatiable; men are always striving after enjoyment, but they never gain their wish completely - which fortifies the old conclusion that man's happiness is not in his own power. Verse 7. - All the labor of man is for his mouth; i.e. for self-preservation and enjoyment, eating and drinking being taken as a type of the proper use of earthly blessings (comp; Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:13, etc.; Psalm 128:2). The sentiment is general, and does not refer specially to the particular person described above, though it carries on the idea of the unsatisfactory result of wealth. Luther translates strangely and erroneously, "To every man is work allotted according to his measure. Such an idea is entirely foreign to the context. And yet the appetite is not filled. The word rendered "appetite" is nephesh, "soul," and Zockler contends that "' mouth 'and 'soul' stand in contrast to each other as representatives of the purely sensual and therefore transitory enjoyment (comp. Job 12:11; Proverbs 16:26) as compared with the deeper, more spiritual, and therefore more lasting kind of joy." But no such contrast is intended; the writer would never have uttered such a truism as that deep, spiritual joy is not to be obtained by sensual pleasure; and, as Delitzsch points out, in some passages (e.g., Proverbs 16:26; Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 29:8) "mouth" in one sentence corresponds to "soul" in another. The soul is considered as the seat of the appetitive faculty - emotions, desires, etc. This is never satisfied (Ecclesiastes 1:8) with what it has, but is always craving for more. So Horace affirms that a man rightly obtains the appellation of king, "avidum domando spiritum," by subduing his spirit's cravings ('Carm.,' 2:2. 9). 6:7-12 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 things. Our lot is appointed. We have what pleases God, and let that please us. The greatest possessions and honours cannot set us above the common events of human life. Seeing that the things men pursue on earth increase vanities, what is man the better for his worldly devices? Our life upon earth is to be reckoned by days. It is fleeting and uncertain, and with little in it to be fond of, or to be depended on. Let us return to God, trust in his mercy through Jesus Christ, and submit to his will. Then soon shall we glide through this vexatious world, and find ourselves in that happy place, where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. Jump to Previous Appetite Desire Efforts Filled Food Labor Mouth Satisfied Soul Toil WorkJump to Next Appetite Desire Efforts Filled Food Labor Mouth Satisfied Soul Toil WorkLinks Ecclesiastes 6:7 NIVEcclesiastes 6:7 NLT Ecclesiastes 6:7 ESV Ecclesiastes 6:7 NASB Ecclesiastes 6:7 KJV Ecclesiastes 6:7 Bible Apps Ecclesiastes 6:7 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 6:7 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 6:7 French Bible Ecclesiastes 6:7 German Bible Alphabetical: a All and appetite are efforts for his is labor man's mouth never not satisfied the yet OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labor of man (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) Christian Bible Study Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools |