Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 11:7
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Preacher addresses readers navigating uncertainty about the future, immediately following instructions to work diligently regardless of which agricultural endeavor succeeds.
The words — The text opens with הָא֑וֹר (ha.'Or, "the light") and מָת֖וֹק (ma.Tok, "is sweet"), paired with וְ/ט֥וֹב (ve./Tov, "and is good") for the eyes to see אֶת־הַשָּׁמֶשׁ (et-ha.shemesh, "the sun").
The thread — The motif of seeing the sun appears in Ecclesiastes 7:11 to describe those who benefit from wisdom, while Matthew 5:45 notes God causes the sun to rise on both the evil and the good.
Why it lands — The verse observes the basic human pleasure in daylight and visibility, grounding the preceding call to persistent labor in the tangible reality of a present, functioning world.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 7:11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
- Matthew 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Proverbs 15:30 The light of the eyes cheers the heart, and good news nourishes the bones.
- Job 33:30 to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
- Proverbs 29:13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
- Job 33:28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’
- Psalms 56:13 For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
- Ecclesiastes 6:5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,