Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse reasserts that eating, drinking, and enjoying labor are good and fitting during God-given days.
The gift is to eat and to take one's portion
This verse is one part of that explanation in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
Read Ecclesiastes 5:18 with 5:18-20. This verse reasserts that eating, drinking, and enjoying labor are good and fitting during God-given days. The full unit establishes this movement: Qoheleth calls it good and fitting to receive food, drink, labor, wealth, portion, and the God-given capacity to enjoy them during finite days, with joy keeping life's brevity from consuming attention.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The refrain sharply distinguishes possessing goods from being enabled to receive them as a finite portion. Within that movement, this verse reasserts that eating, drinking, and enjoying labor are good and fitting during God-given days.
Follow the Context
- Eating, drinking, and seeing good in toil are pronounced good and fitting.
- Finite days and God's gift define the horizon.
- Wealth and honor are not enough; the power to enjoy is separately given.
- Receiving one's portion and rejoicing in labor are named gift.
- Joy answers the person amid brief days.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“good and comely”
In plain language: Good and fitting within the human portion.
reasserts that eating, drinking, and enjoying labor are good and fitting during God-given days. The finite portion is received within mortality rather than secured against it.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk requiring the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not tell exploited people to settle for unjust conditions.
It does not make visible enjoyment proof of moral or spiritual superiority.
What Remains True
The finite portion is received within mortality rather than secured against it.
How It Can Shape Life
- Make ordinary goods accessible and receive them without demanding permanence.
Teach It Back
Explain Ecclesiastes 5:18's precise role in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20. Include the complete movement, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 — The Gift and Capacity to EnjoySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
'All the days' names the mortal span given, not a promise that every day feels good.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ecclesiastes
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, repeated-word, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Eccl.xml, 5:18-20
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ecclesiastes with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, lexical, literary, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Ecclesiastes PDF, printed pp. 1204-1205, translation and notes on 5:18-20
Open source ↗