Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Teacher addresses an unspecified audience in Ecclesiastes while concluding a comparison between the wise man and the fool, and the poor man's limited gain. He speaks at the moment of evaluating human striving after noting that the poor man's wisdom offers no practical advantage.
The words — The Hebrew ט֭וֹב (tov) means "[is] good," and נָ֑פֶשׁ (nefesh) translates to "desire." These terms establish the verse's direct contrast between observable reality and unfulfilled craving.
The thread — The declaration of futility reappears in Ecclesiastes 1:2 and Ecclesiastes 1:14, where the Teacher labels all earthly activity a "pursuit of the wind." The danger of the heart following the eyes is echoed in Job 31:7.
Why it lands — The text states that present sight surpasses wandering desire, yet both remain empty. It asks a reader to accept the limits of human ambition without seeking resolution beyond the observed reality.
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
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
- Job 31:7 If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22 For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 6:2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.