Qoheleth now presents a conclusion drawn from the examples he has given. Its message is clear and is consistent with the “no satisfaction” theme of 5.10-12. This conclusion is widely recognized as a quotation that Qoheleth uses because it conveniently summarizes what his views are.

All the toil of man: on the use of toil see comments on 1.3 and 2.10. The term describes both the work a person does and what that work provides by way of reward. Man is a general term and as usual is to be rendered as “people” or as a representative “person.” An impersonal pronoun (“one”) may also be appropriate in some languages.

For his mouth: for marks this phrase as indicating the goal or purpose of toil. His mouth has received various interpretations. The most obvious is the figurative understanding, in which mouth represents a person eating. This is the logical result of concluding that the purpose of work is “to put food into your mouth.” An extension of this view is that in which mouth indicates all the human appetites rather than just eating. The New American Bible footnote mentions this possible rendering. There is, however, another figurative meaning that some have proposed. They suggest that the mouth is a metaphor for the mouth of Sheol, the abode of the dead. In view of the thought in verse 6 this suggestion is attractive. Notice how “mouth” in 5.6 was a metaphor for what is spoken, whereas here the context demands a different sense.

In translation we may say, for example, “All a person works for is to satisfy physical needs,” or “Everything people do is to provide food to eat.” Jerusalem Bible says very simply “Man toils but to eat.”

Yet his appetite is not satisfied: our interpretation of the meaning of “mouth” will affect the way appetite is understood. If it is literally eating that Qoheleth has in mind, then appetite refers to “hunger for food.” If “mouth” has a more figurative sense, then the reference is to all physical desires, not only eating. The Hebrew term that Revised Standard Version renders appetite, and which offers us all these possibilities, is the term nefesh. This term can also describe a living person. So in Gen 2.7 mankind is created, brought to life, and is described as a living “being” or nefesh. In Isa 5.14; Pro 16.19 nefesh is set in parallel with “mouth” and is generally taken to mean “stomach,” hence Jerusalem Bible “belly.” By rendering his appetite as the pronoun “he,” we can indicate that a person eats but is never satisfied (see verse 3 for a similar solution.)

Is not satisfied is literally “not be filled.” The translator may use any equivalent idiomatic expression, such as “never gets enough” or “is never full.”

The translator has the choice of preserving the very down-to-earth nature of this proverb or of generalizing the meaning for better comprehension. In many cultures proverbs are common, and a literal translation may be appreciated:

• All a person works for goes into his mouth,
yet his stomach is never full.

On the other hand our translation can preserve the very general nature of the proverb with something like:

• Everything people do is to meet their many needs, but they are
never fully satisfied.

• A person works because he is hungry, but he can never be filled.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .