When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
Parallel translations
- WEB When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),
- KJV When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
- NKJV When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night,
- NASB When I devoted my mind to know wisdom and to see the business which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night),
- NLT In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the Preacher set his heart to grasp all earthly business, even depriving himself of sleep, he found the task overwhelming. Human striving cannot master the workings of the world.
Overview
Qoheleth describes his relentless, sleepless pursuit of understanding all that happens on earth. The effort itself proves the limits of human wisdom. This humble admission prepares for verse 17's conclusion and points to the God whose ways surpass our searching (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eccl 2:23Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
- Ps 127:2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
- Eccl 1:13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
- Eccl 4:8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
- Eccl 7:25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
- Eccl 8:7Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
- Eccl 8:9All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.
- Eccl 5:12The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
- Gen 31:40As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 8:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.