Ecclesiastes 2 · Verse 10

Ecclesiastes 2:10

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.
Ecclesiastes 2:10, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 2:10 in other translations

BSBAnything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
WEBWhatever my eyes desired, I didn’t keep from them. I didn’t withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
ASVAnd whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
YLTAnd all that mine eyes asked I kept not back from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this hath been my portion, from all my labour,
DARBYAnd 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 from all my labour.
BBEAnd nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.
WebsterAnd whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor.

What does Ecclesiastes 2:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ecclesiastes 2:3-11

3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2. I sought--I resolved, after search into many plans. give myself unto wine--literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19). yet acquainting ... wisdom--literally, "and my heart (still) was behaving, or guiding itself," with wisdom…

Read the full comment on Ecclesiastes 2:3-11 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 I withheld not my heart from any joy - He had every means of gratification; he could desire nothing that was not within his reach; and whatever he wished, he took care to possess.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

The vanity and vexation of mirth, sensual pleasure, riches, and pomp. (Eccl. 2:1-11) Human wisdom insufficient. (Eccl. 2:12-17) This world to be used according to the will of God. (Eccl. 2:18-26) Verses 1-11 Solomon soon found mirth and pleasure to be vanity. What does noisy, flashy mirth towards making a man happy? The manifold devices of men's hearts, to get satisfaction from the world, and their changing from one…

Read the full comment on Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 →

Ecclesiastes 2:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְכֹל֙ve.Kholand allH3605
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherthatH834
שָֽׁאֲל֣וּsha.'a.Luthey askedH7592
עֵינַ֔י'ei.Naieyes myH5869
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
אָצַ֖לְתִּי'a.Tzal.tiI withheldH680
מֵהֶ֑םme.Hemfrom <the> them
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
מָנַ֨עְתִּיma.Na'.tiI restrainedH4513
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
לִבִּ֜יli.Biheart myH3820
מִכָּל\־mi.kolfrom anyH3605
שִׂמְחָ֗הsim.ChahpleasureH8057
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
לִבִּ֤יli.Biheart myH3820
שָׂמֵ֙חַ֙sa.Me.ach[was] joyfulH8056
מִכָּל\־mi.kolfrom allH3605
עֲמָלִ֔י'a.ma.Litoil myH5999
וְזֶֽה\־ve.zeh-and thisH2088
הָיָ֥הha.Yahit wasH1961
חֶלְקִ֖יchel.Kireward myH2506
מִכָּל\־mi.kolfrom allH3605
עֲמָלִֽי\׃'a.ma.Litoil myH5999

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 2:10

  • Ecclesiastes 9:9

    Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

  • 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 3:22

    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?

  • Psalms 119:37

    Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

  • Psalms 128:2

    For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

  • Ecclesiastes 2:22

    For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?

  • 1 John 2:16

    For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

  • Proverbs 23:5

    Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:9

    Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

  • Genesis 6:2

    That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

  • Job 31:1

    I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

  • Genesis 3:6

    And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
whatsoever.
3:22; 6:9; 11:9; Ge 3:6; 6:2; Jud 14:2; Job 31:1; Ps 119:37; Pr 23:5
1Jo 2:16
my heart rejoiced.
22; 5:18; 9:9; Ps 128:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ecclesiastes 2:9

    So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

  • Ecclesiastes 2:10

    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.

  • Ecclesiastes 2:11

    Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 2

Ecclesiastes 2:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
No negué á mis ojos ninguna cosa que desearan, ni aparté mi corazón de placer alguno, porque mi corazón gozó de todo mi trabajo: y ésta fué mi parte de toda mi faena.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et quoi que mes yeux aient désiré, je ne les en ai point privés; je n’ai refusé à mon cœur aucune joie, car mon cœur s’est réjoui de tout mon travail, et c’est là la part que j’ai eue de tout mon travail.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und was irgend meine Augen begehrten, entzog ich ihnen nicht; ich versagte meinem Herzen keine Freude, denn mein Herz hatte Freude von all meiner Mühe, und das war mein Teil von all meiner Mühe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et omnia quæ desideraverunt oculi mei non negavi eis, nec prohibui cor meum quin omni voluptate frueretur, et oblectaret se in his quæ præparaveram; et hanc ratus sum partem meam si uterer labore meo.