What Does Ecclesiastes 2:10 Mean in the King James?
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Even when nothing desired is withheld, the yield remains a portion: desire can be satisfied without becoming total possession.
THE MEANING
Your eyes receive what they desire, your heart finds joy, and your work brings real delight. Still, what comes from all that labor is called a portion, a share within life, not total possession. Pleasure and toil remain in the same account.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that satisfying every desire turns life into total possession: even with every joy allowed, the result is still called a portion.
THE ROOT
חֵלֶק
ḥēleq
GROWS FROM
חלק
ḥ-l-q
to divide or apportion; a share set apart from a larger whole
Cheleq means a share, and its root carries the sense of dividing or apportioning; English “portion” can sound like a mere amount, but the Hebrew keeps the sense of a bounded share. Even when the eyes get what they desire and the heart finds joy in labor, the result is named as one share within life, not its totality.
ALSO GROWS
ḥālaq: to divide or apportion
חָלַק
This verb names the action beneath a portion: a whole is divided into shares, so the verse’s word carries the sense of a bounded allotment.
ḥelqāh: a parcel, field, or plot of land
חֶלְקָה
A ḥelqāh is a defined piece of ground, making the root’s idea concrete: what is yours is a share within a larger whole.
THE PATTERN
Enjoyment is received as a share within the work and resources of life.
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;THE THREAD
I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.The same Hebrew word, חֵלֶק (ḥēleq), “share” or “portion,” appears in both verses. Here the share is found in the joy of labor; in the psalm, it is the LORD who is named as one’s portion in the land of the living.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us