Ecclesiastes 6:7

6:7 All of man’s labor is for nothing more than ¹  to fill his stomach ²  –

yet his appetite ³  is never satisfied!

Ecclesiastes 8:5

8:5 Whoever obeys his ⁴  command will not experience harm,

and a wise person ⁵  knows the proper time ⁶  and procedure.

[6:7]  ¹ tn The phrase “for nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ² tn Heb “All man’s work is for his mouth.” The term “mouth” functions as a synecdoche of part (i.e., mouth) for the whole (i.e., person), substituting the organ of consumption for the person’s action of consumption (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 641-43), as suggested by the parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “his appetite”).

[6:7]  ³ tn The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “desire; appetite”) is used as a metonymy of association, that is, the soul is associated with man’s desires and appetites (BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 5.c; 6.a).

[8:5]  ⁴ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[8:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the heart of a wise man.”

[8:5]  ⁶ tn The term עֵת (’et, “time”) connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event; the right moment” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b); e.g., “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27).