Ecclesiastes 2:24 Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

Bible > Ecclesiastes > Chapter 2 > Verse 24

◄ Ecclesiastes 2:24 ►

New International Version
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,

New Living Translation
So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.

English Standard Version
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,

Berean Standard Bible
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

King James Bible
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

New King James Version
Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

New American Standard Bible
There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

NASB 1995
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

NASB 1977
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

Legacy Standard Bible
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and have his soul see good in his labor. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

Amplified Bible
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

Christian Standard Bible
There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

American Standard Version
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

Contemporary English Version
The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working. I believe these are God's gifts to us,

English Revised Version
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God.

Good News Translation
The best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have earned. And yet, I realized that even this comes from God.

International Standard Version
The only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life's goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself,

Majority Standard Bible
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

NET Bible
There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

New Heart English Bible
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

Webster's Bible Translation
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

World English Bible
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
There is nothing good in a man who eats, and has drunk, and has shown his soul good in his labor. This also I have seen that it [is] from the hand of God.

Young's Literal Translation
There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

Smith's Literal Translation
Not good in man he shall eat and drink and cause his soul to see good in his labor. Also this I saw that it is from the hand of God.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
Is it not better to eat and drink, and to shew his soul good things of his labours? and this is from the hand of God.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Is it not better to eat and drink, and to show his soul the good things of his labors? And this is from the hand of God.

New American Bible
There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and provide themselves with good things from their toil. Even this, I saw, is from the hand of God.

New Revised Standard Version
There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of the LORD.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
There is no good for a man but to eat and to drink and to show good to his soul in his work; this also I have seen that it is from the hand of LORD JEHOVAH

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy pleasure for his labour. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A man has nothing really good to eat, and to drink, and to shew his soul as good in his trouble. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Futility of Work
…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. 24Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. 25For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, / and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. / Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. / For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 8:15
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:7-9
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: / Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head. / Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

Psalm 128:2
For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Psalm 104:14-15
He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: / wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

Proverbs 15:13
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Isaiah 22:13
But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Luke 12:19
Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? / Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? / Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ...

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

Treasury of Scripture

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

nothing

Ecclesiastes 3:12,13,22
I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life…

Ecclesiastes 5:18
Behold 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.

Ecclesiastes 8:15
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

make his soul enjoy good

Ecclesiastes 3:13
And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 5:19
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 6:2
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

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Ecclesiastes 2

1. the vanity of human courses is the work of pleasure
12. Though the wise be better than the fool, yet both have one event
18. The vanity of human labor, in leaving it they know not to whom
24. Nothing better than joy in our labor but that is God's gift

Berean Study Bible

Nothing is better for a man
This phrase sets the tone for the verse, emphasizing the ultimate satisfaction and contentment available to humanity. The Hebrew word for "better" (טוֹב, tov) often conveys goodness, welfare, or prosperity. In the context of Ecclesiastes, it suggests that amidst life's vanities, finding joy in simple pleasures is a profound blessing. Historically, this reflects a counter-cultural message in a world often driven by ambition and material gain.

than to eat and drink
Eating and drinking are fundamental human activities, symbolizing sustenance and community. In the Hebrew culture, meals were not just about nourishment but also about fellowship and celebration. The phrase underscores the importance of appreciating daily provisions as gifts from God. It echoes the biblical theme of gratitude for God's provision, as seen in the manna provided to the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16).

and enjoy his work
The Hebrew word for "enjoy" (רָאָה, ra'ah) can also mean "to see" or "to perceive," suggesting a deeper understanding or appreciation of one's labor. Work is portrayed not as a curse but as a source of fulfillment when viewed through the right perspective. This aligns with the Genesis mandate where work is part of God's original design for humanity (Genesis 2:15). The verse encourages finding joy in one's vocation as a divine gift.

I have also seen
This phrase indicates the author's personal observation and reflection. The Hebrew verb "seen" (רָאָה, ra'ah) implies insight gained through experience. The author, traditionally understood to be Solomon, shares wisdom gleaned from a life of exploration and discovery. It suggests that the conclusions drawn are not theoretical but grounded in lived reality.

that this is from the hand of God
The "hand of God" symbolizes divine authority and provision. In Hebrew thought, God's hand represents His power and involvement in the world. This phrase affirms that the ability to find joy in life's simple pleasures is a gift from God, not merely a human achievement. It reflects a theological understanding that all good things come from God (James 1:17) and encourages a posture of humility and gratitude.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) Nothing better.--"Not good" is the sense of the Hebrew as it stands, for it will be observed that the word "than" is in italics. But as this word might easily have dropped out by a transcriber's error, interpreters, taking in connection Ecclesiastes 3:12; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 8:15, generally agree to modify the text so as to give it the meaning of our version, according to which the sense is: "Seeing the uncertainty of the future, the only good a man can get from his labour is that present pleasure which he can make it yield to himself; and whether he can even enjoy so much as this depends on God." If the text be not altered, the sense is: "It is not good for a man to eat, &c, seeing it depends on God whether or not that is possible."

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink. The Vulgate makes the sentence interrogative, which the Hebrew does not sanction, Nonne melius est comedere et bibere? Septuagint Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν ἀνθρώπῳ ο{ φάγεται καὶ ο{ πίεται, "There is naught good to a man to eat or drink;" St. Jerome and others insert misi, "except for a man to eat," etc. This and the Authorized Version, which are more or less approved by most critics, make the writer enunciate a kind of modified Epicureanism, quotations in confirmation of which will be found set forth by Plumptre. It is not pretended that the present Hebrew text admits this exposition, and critics have agreed to modify the original in order to express the sense which they give to the passage. As it stands, the sentence runs, "It is not good in (בָּ) man that he should eat," etc. This is supposed to clash with later statements; e.g. Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13; Ecclesiastes 8:15; and to condemn all bodily pleasure even in its simplest form. Hence commentators insert מ ("than") before שֶׁיּלֺאכַל, supposing that the initial mere has dropped out after the terminal of the preceding word, adam (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:22). This solution of a difficulty might be allowed were the Hebrew otherwise incapable of explanation without doing violence to the sentiments elsewhere expressed. But this is not the case. As Metals has seen, the great point lies in the preposition ב, and what is stated is that it does not depend on man, it is not in his power, he is not at liberty to eat and drink and enjoy himself simply at his own will; his power and ability proceed wholly from God. A higher authority than his decides the matter. The phrase, "to eat and drink," is merely a periphrasis for living in comfort, peace, and affluence. St. Gregory, who holds that here and in other places Koheleth seems to contradict himself, makes a remark which is of general application, "He who looks to the text, and does not acquaint himself with the sense of the Holy Word, is not so much furnishing himself with instruction as bewildering himself in uncertainty, in that the literal words sometimes contradict themselves; but whilst by their oppositeness they stand at variance with themselves, they direct the reader to a truth that is to be understood" ('Moral.,' 4:1). They who read Epicureanism into the text fall into the error here denounced. They take the expression, "eat and drink," in the narrowest sense of bodily pleasure, whereas it was by no means so confined in the mind of a Hebrew. To eat bread in the kingdom of God, to take a place at the heavenly banquet, represents the highest bliss of glorified man (Luke 14:15; Revelation 19:9, etc.). In a lower degree it signifies earthly prosperity, as in Jeremiah 22:15, "Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? then it was well with him." So in our passage we find only the humiliating truth that man in himself is powerless to make his life happy or his labors successful. There is no Epicurean-ism, even in a modified form, in the Hebrew text as it has come down to us. With other supposed traces of this philosophy we shall have to deal subsequently (see on Ecclesiastes 3:12; 6:2). And that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor; i.e. taste the enjoyment of his labor, get pleasure as the reward of all his exertions, or find it in the actual pursuit. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. This is the point - the power of enjoyment depends on the will of God. The next verse substantiates this assertion.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Nothing
אֵֽין־ (’ên-)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

[is] better
ט֤וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

for man
בָּאָדָם֙ (bā·’ā·ḏām)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

than to eat
שֶׁיֹּאכַ֣ל (še·yō·ḵal)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

and drink
וְשָׁתָ֔ה (wə·šā·ṯāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

and
וְהֶרְאָ֧ה (wə·her·’āh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim

enjoy
רָאִ֣יתִי (rā·’î·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7200: To see

his work.
בַּעֲמָל֑וֹ (ba·‘ă·mā·lōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5999: Toil, wearing effort, worry, wheth, of body, mind

I
אָ֔נִי (’ā·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

have also
גַּם־ (gam-)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

seen
הִֽיא׃ (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

that
כִּ֛י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

this [is]
זֹה֙ (zōh)
Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2090: This, that

from the hand
מִיַּ֥ד (mî·yaḏ)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3027: A hand

of God.
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 2:24 There is nothing better for a man (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)