Verse 9

Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This too is meaningless and a chasing after the wind.

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 1:14 : 14 I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 2:11 : 11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
  • Eccl 2:22-24 : 22 What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun? 23 All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. 24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.
  • Eccl 3:12-13 : 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live. 13 And also that every person should eat, drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
  • Eccl 4:4 : 4 And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
  • Eccl 5:18 : 18 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and enables them to enjoy it, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.
  • Eccl 6:2 : 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires. Yet God does not enable him to enjoy them, but instead a foreigner eats them. This is meaningless and a grievous misfortune.
  • Eccl 11:9 : 9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be glad in the days of your prime. Follow the ways of your heart and the sights of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
  • Jer 2:20 : 20 For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, but you said, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.
  • Job 31:7 : 7 If my steps have turned from the way, or if my heart has followed my eyes, or if any stain has clung to my hands,
  • Prov 30:15-16 : 15 The leech has two daughters: 'Give! Give!' There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!' 16 The grave, the barren womb, land that is never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, 'Enough!'
  • Eccl 1:2 : 2 “Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”