Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 6:7
All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Teacher addresses readers examining the futility of extended life without enjoyment, placing this observation between reflections on universal mortality and the comparative value of wisdom.
The words — עֲמַל ('a.Mal) denotes the "toil" or labor expended, while הַ/נֶּפֶשׁ (ha./Ne.fesh) translates literally as "appetite" or "soul," isolating the physical drive that consumes human effort.
The thread — This labor-versus-insatiability pattern runs through Proverbs 16:26, which notes hunger propels a worker, and is answered in John 6:27 and 1 Timothy 6:6 by redirecting pursuit toward eternal sustenance and contentment.
Why it lands — The text states that all human labor serves only the mouth while appetite remains perpetually unfilled, requiring a reader to assess whether their daily efforts target temporary relief or enduring purpose.
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
All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
Cross-references
- John 6:27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
- Proverbs 16:26 A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.
- 1 Timothy 6:6 Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Genesis 3:17 And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.