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Ecclesiastes 6:9

What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

Bible in Basic English

In The King James Version

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

In Context

8What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

10That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 6

Cross References

Job 31:7If my steps have been turned out of the way, or if my heart went after my eyes, or if the property of another is in my hands;

Ecclesiastes 1:2All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

Ecclesiastes 1:17And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:22What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 4:4And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

Ecclesiastes 6:2A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 6:8-11

The Insatiableness of Desire. 7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. The preacher here further shows the vanity and folly of… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

King James VersionBíblia Almeida (Português)Luther Bibel (Deutsch)Bible Louis Segond (Français)Библия (Русский)聖經 (中文)성경 (한국어)الكتاب المقدس (العربية)बाइबल (हिन्दी)Biblia (Kiswahili)Bibbia Diodati (Italiano)Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia)Kinh Thánh (Tiếng Việt)

Study Ecclesiastes 6:9

Matthew HenryJamieson-Fausset-BrownAdam ClarkeJohn WesleyJohn CalvinKeil and DelitzschScofieldFamily Bible NotesGeneva Bible Notes (1599)
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