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Ecclesiastes 6:9
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7 aAll the labor of man is for his mouth,
And yet the soul is not satisfied. 
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is1 the asight of the eyes than the wandering of2 desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 
10 Whatever one is, he has been named aalready,
For it is known that he is man;
bAnd he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he. 
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?
Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
<< Ecclesiastes 6:8   Ecclesiastes 6:10 >>


Ecclesiastes 6:9

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire - This is translated by the Vulgate, as a sort of adage: Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias, "It is better to see what one desires than to covet what one knows not." It is better to enjoy the present than to feed one' s self with vain desires of the future. What we translate the wandering of desire, mehaloch nephesh , is the travelling of the soul. What is this? Does it simply mean desire? Or is there any reference here to the state of separate spirits! It however shows the soul to be in a restless state, and consequently to be unhappy. If Christ dwell in the heart by faith, the soul is then at rest, and this is properly the rest of the people of God.


 
<< Ecclesiastes 6:8   Ecclesiastes 6:10 >>

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