Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 5:18
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Preacher addresses a general audience, positioning this observation between a description of the wealthy man's dark, sorrowful days in Ecclesiastes 5:17 and a declaration that God enables the enjoyment of riches in Ecclesiastes 5:19. He speaks from the vantage point of one who has surveyed human experience under the sun.
The words — The text pairs טוֹב (Tov), meaning "good," with יָפֶה (ya.Peh), meaning "beautiful" or "fitting," to qualify the act of eating, drinking, and finding satisfaction in labor. These descriptors establish the daily routines of provision and work as objectively positive rather than merely tolerable.
The thread — This pattern of finding contentment in daily sustenance and work runs through Ecclesiastes 2:24, Ecclesiastes 3:12, and Ecclesiastes 3:22, where enjoyment of one's labor is consistently labeled as a divine gift or an appointed lot. The repeated formulation across these passages reinforces the book's consistent stance on human limitation and provision.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to accept their daily labor and God-given lifespan as a complete portion without demanding additional cosmic justification. It asks for a plain acknowledgment that satisfaction in work and provision is sufficient, regardless of future uncertainty.
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
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
- Ecclesiastes 3:22 I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15 So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Jeremiah 52:34 And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.