Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
Parallel Translations
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Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
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And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
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But also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy pleasure for all his labour, is the gift of God.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 3:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 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.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go your way—eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
- Isaiah 65:21-23 They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit. They will not plant and another eat: for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of Yahweh’s blessed and their descendants with them.
- Psalms 128:2 For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because God occupies him with the joy of his heart.
- Deuteronomy 28:30-31 You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit. Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Read Eccl. 2:24, and these places declare that we…
Read Eccl. 2:24, and these places declare that we should do all things with sobriety and in the fear of God, forasmuch as he giveth not his gifts to the intent that they should be abused.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 3:13 And also that every man should eat…
Ecc 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it [is] the gift of God.
Ver. 13. And enjoy the good of all his labour.] "They that will not labour must not eat," {2Th 3:10} saith the apostle. As they that do shall enjoy the good of all their labour, eat the labour of their hands, and be thrice happy. {Psa 128:1-2} Jabal and Jubal, {Gen 4:20-21} frugality and music, good husbandry and good content, dwell together; and yet not always, but where God gives the gift. He gives strength to labour, and health to enjoy the good of our labour. {a} This the rich fool in the gospel either knew not or considered not. "Eat, drink, and be merry," said he to himself; but God was not in all his thoughts. How much better David! "Hope in the Lord," {Psa 43:5} saith he to himself and others, "and be doing good; dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." {Psa 37:3}
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{a} Valeat possessor oportet, si comportatis rebus bene cogitat uti. - Horat.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That every man should eat and drink, i.e. hath…
That every man should eat and drink, i.e. hath power or a heart to use what God hath given him, as it is expressed, Ecc 6:2.
It is the gift of God; of which See Poole "Ecc 2:24".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And also that every man should eat and drink,....…
And also that every man should eat and drink,.... Not to excess, but in moderation; and yet freely, plentifully, and cheerfully; and not alone, but giving the poor a portion with him; and in all having in view the glory of God, Co1 10:31;
and enjoy the good of all his labour; take the comfort of what he has been labouring for, and not lay it up for, and leave it to, he knows not who: the Targum is,
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"and see good in his days, and cause his children, at the time of his death, to inherit all his labour;''
it is the gift of God; not only to have, but to enjoy, and make a proper use of the mercies of life. This is the same doctrine which is delivered Ecc 2:24.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Should eat - Use what God hath given him.
Should eat - Use what God hath given him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain God. He gives peace and plenty; and still more,…
God. He gives peace and plenty; and still more, the grace to use these things, so as to obtain heaven. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Literally, "And also as to every man who eats…
Literally, "And also as to every man who eats . . . this is the gift of God" (Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18). When received as God's gifts, and to God's glory, the good things of life are enjoyed in their due time and order (Act 2:46; Co1 10:31; Ti1 4:3-4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Eat and drink — Nearly a repetition of…
13. Eat and drink — Nearly a repetition of the previous verse. Every form of present enjoyment is from the hand of God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. And also that every man] The addition of…
13. And also that every man] The addition of this clause confirms the interpretation just given of the “doing good” of the preceding verse. Had that meant simply enjoyment, this clause would have been an idle repetition. As it is, “doing good” takes its place, as it did with the nobler Epicureans, among the elements of happiness. So Epicurus himself taught that “it is not possible to live happily without also living wisely, and nobly, and justly” (Diog. Laert. x. 1, § 140).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13, 14) Sir_11:17; Sir_18:6.
(13, 14) Sir_11:17; Sir_18:6.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And also that every man should eat and drink...…
And also that every man should eat and drink... it is the gift of God. This enforces and intensifies the statement in the preceding verse; not only the power to "do good," but even to enjoy what comes in his way, (see on Ecc_2:24) man must receive from God. When we pray for our daily bread, we also ask for ability to take, assimilate, and profit by the supports and comforts afforded to us. "It" is better omitted, as "is the gift of God" forms the predicate of the sentence. Ecc_11:1-7, "The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly, and his favor bringeth prosperity for ever."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.