Verse 8

A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

Referenced Verses

  • Prov 27:20 : 20 As Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so the eyes of a person are never satisfied.
  • Eccl 1:8 : 8 All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing.
  • Eccl 1:13 : 13 I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.
  • Gen 2:18 : 18 The LORD God said,“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”
  • Ps 39:6 : 6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
  • 1 John 2:16 : 16 because all that is in the world(the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
  • Eccl 4:9-9 : 9 Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm, but how can one person keep warm by himself? 12 Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.
  • Eccl 5:10 : 10 Covetousness The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile.
  • Isa 5:8 : 8 Disaster is Coming Beware, those who accumulate houses, who also accumulate landed property until there is no land left, and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.
  • Isa 44:19-20 : 19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:‘I burned half of it in the fire– yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 20 He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
  • Isa 55:2 : 2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!
  • Isa 56:3-5 : 3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of the LORD should say,‘The LORD will certainly exclude me from his people.’ The eunuch should not say,‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’” 4 For this is what the LORD says:“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and are faithful to my covenant, 5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.
  • Hab 2:5-9 : 5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol’s; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples. 6 The Proud Babylonians Are as Good as Dead“But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings:‘Woe to the one who accumulates what does not belong to him(How long will this go on?)– he who gets rich by extortion!’ 7 Your creditors will suddenly attack; those who terrify you will spring into action, and they will rob you. 8 Because you robbed many countries, all who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them. 9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.
  • Matt 11:28 : 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
  • Luke 12:20 : 20 But God said to him,‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
  • Gen 15:2-3 : 2 But Abram said,“O Sovereign LORD, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram added,“Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”
  • Eccl 2:23 : 23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!