What Does Ecclesiastes 4:8 Mean in the King James?
There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
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
An eye with no limit for enough can make a person richer in possessions and poorer in life.
THE MEANING
You can have an unending stream of work and riches while the eye still has no word for enough. As that pursuit takes the place of relationship and enjoyment, the living self can be deprived of the very good it labors to secure. The verse names this painful futility as something happening now wherever gain grows while life goes unfed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that more possessions will eventually make the wanting stop, and that relentless work automatically serves life. Here, the eye remains unsatisfied while the worker’s own living soul is deprived of good.
THE ROOT
תִּשְׂבַּע
tisbaʿ
GROWS FROM
שׂבע
To be full, sated, or satisfied.
“satisfied” in this verse is tisbaʿ. The verse says the eye never reaches fullness. The same root holds both satiety and fullness, so the problem is not simply wanting one more thing: riches keep accumulating while the gaze never finds its stopping point.
ALSO GROWS
sāvēaʿ: Full, sated, satisfied.
שָׂבֵעַ
This is the state the eye never reaches, even with riches before it.
śōvaʿ: Fullness, plenty, abundance.
שֹׂבַע
Abundance is present, but abundance itself does not make the eye feel full.
נַפְשִׁי
nafshi
GROWS FROM
נפש
The living self and its restoration.
The word translated soul points to the living person, not an abstract inner part. A related verb means to be refreshed or rested, sharpening the loss in the verse: endless labor deprives the living self of good and leaves no room for restoration.
ALSO GROWS
nephesh: Living soul, person, or self.
נֶפֶשׁ
The one deprived of good is the whole living self, not merely an inward faculty.
wayyinnāphēsh: Was refreshed or rested.
וַיִּנָּפֵשׁ
This related verb evokes the restoration denied by work that has no end.
מְחַסֵּר
meḥassēr
GROWS FROM
חסר
To be lacking, or to cause lack and diminish.
“bereave” in this verse is meḥassēr. The laborer’s wealth does not prevent a lack: the verse says his work is making his living self deficient in good. Hebrew holds the idea of deprivation inside the verb itself, so gain and inner lack can grow together.
ALSO GROWS
ḥāsēr: Lacking, missing, deficient.
חָסֵר
The worker’s life is deficient in good even as his labor continues to gather riches.
maḥsôr: Want, shortage, lack.
מַחְסוֹר
This branch makes clear that lack can remain where possessions are plentiful.
THE PATTERN
When desire is measured by accumulation, more does not become enough, and life is reduced to what it can possess.
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.THE THREAD
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.The Hebrew word translated satisfieth comes from the same root, שׂבע (ś-b-ʿ), meaning to be full or sated, as satisfied in this verse. The contrast turns on what is filled: here riches leave the eye unsated, while the longing living soul is filled with good.
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