Ecclesiastes 2:24
in Ecclesiastes 2Nothing 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
KJV
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"Is it not good for man that he eats and drinks and shows his soul satisfaction in his labour? And even that, I perceived, is from the hand of God. For who should eat and who should make haste except me? To the man who pleases Him He has given wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He has given the urge to gather and amass - that he may hand it on to one who is pleasing to God. That, too, is vanity and a vexation of the spirit."
This site's exposition
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink
on Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work, and it comes from the hand of God. Verse 26 gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to the man pleasing to God and gathering to the sinner, and calls even that futile.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"Is it not better to eat and drink and to show his soul good things from his labors?" Supply: than to labor always continually: as if to say: it is better, that is, less evil, because the latter is an evil of guilt and punishment, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What that good is which is here recommended to us; and which is the utmost pleasure and profit we can expect or extract from the business and profit of this world, and the furthest we can go to rescue it from its vanity and the vexation that is in it.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
English Version gives a seemingly Epicurean sense, contrary to the general scope. The Hebrew, literally is, "It is not good for man that he should eat," &c., "and should make his soul see good" (or "show his soul, that is, himself, happy"), &c. [WEISS].
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
There is nothing better for a man - The sense of this passage is well expressed in the following lines: - “For these disorders wouldst thou find a cure, Such cure as human frailty would admit?
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| ט֤וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בָּאָדָם֙ | baadam | for <the> person | H120 → | 551 times |
| שֶׁיֹּאכַ֣ל | sheiyokhal | that he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְשָׁתָ֔ה | veshatah | and he will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וְהֶרְאָ֧ה | veherah | and he will show | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשׁ֛וֹ | nafsho | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| ט֖וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בַּעֲמָל֑וֹ | baamalo | in toil his | H5999 → | 55 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| זֹה֙ | zoh | this | H2090 → | 11 times |
| רָאִ֣יתִי | raiti | I have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אָ֔נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִיַּ֥ד | miyad | [is] from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הִֽיא׃ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
אֵֽין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
ט֤וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
בָּאָדָם֙for <the> person
baadamH120 →551 times
שֶׁיֹּאכַ֣לthat he will eat
sheiyokhalH398 →810 times
וְשָׁתָ֔הand he will drink
veshatahH8354 →217 times
וְהֶרְאָ֧הand he will show
veherahH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשׁ֛וֹself his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
ט֖וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
בַּעֲמָל֑וֹin toil his
baamaloH5999 →55 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
זֹה֙this
zohH2090 →11 times
רָאִ֣יתִיI have seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
אָ֔נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִיַּ֥ד[is] from [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הִֽיא׃it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 6:17Instruct 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…
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:28
He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
- Acts 14:17
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Matthew 19:23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Timothy 4:10
To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.
- James 1:9–10
The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- Proverbs 11:28
Through
Ecclesiastes 3:22I 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?
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 3:11–12
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him…
- Ecclesiastes 3:11–12
Through
Ecclesiastes 8:15So 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…
it leads to
- 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…
- Ecclesiastes 5:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.