“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.”
My Notes
What Does Ecclesiastes 5:18 Mean?
The Preacher repeats his life-conclusion: it's good and comely (beautiful, fitting) to eat, drink, and enjoy the good of all your labor during the days God gives you. This is your portion. Your allotted share. The enjoyment of daily life IS the gift.
The phrase "all the days of his life, which God giveth him" frames the enjoyment within mortality: the days are numbered. God gives them. They're limited. And the enjoyment should match the giving — you enjoy because the days were given, and you enjoy during the days that remain.
"For it is his portion" (cheleq — share, allotment, assigned lot) means the enjoyment isn't a bonus. It IS the inheritance. Your portion in life isn't fame, legacy, or accumulated wealth. It's the daily, God-given capacity to eat, drink, and find good in your work. That's your share. That's enough. That's what was assigned.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you receive daily enjoyment (eating, drinking, working) as your actual 'portion' — or are you chasing a bigger inheritance?
- 2.Does calling simple enjoyment 'good and comely' (beautiful) change how you value ordinary life?
- 3.How do 'the days God gives you' (numbered, limited) create urgency about enjoyment rather than deferral?
- 4.Where are you treating the portion as insufficient and chasing what God didn't assign?
Devotional
Eat. Drink. Enjoy your work. All the days God gives you. Because that's your portion. That's the whole gift.
The Preacher — after investigating everything under the sun — keeps returning to the same conclusion: the good life is simpler than you think. Eat what's in front of you. Drink what fills your cup. Find enjoyment in the labor of your hands. And do it every day God gives you.
"Good and comely" — beautiful. Fitting. Appropriate. The Preacher doesn't just say it's acceptable to enjoy life. He says it's beautiful. The person who eats with gratitude, drinks with savoring, and works with satisfaction is living a beautiful life. Not a flashy life. A beautiful one.
"All the days of his life, which God giveth him" — the days are gifts. Numbered. Counted. Given by God. They run out. And the enjoyment should fill every one of them. Not someday. Not after you've achieved enough. Now. Today. During the days that are slipping away while you read this.
"It is his portion" — cheleq — this is your share. Your inheritance. Your assigned allotment. The enjoyment of daily life isn't a consolation prize for people who didn't achieve greatness. It IS the prize. God assigned it. It's your portion. The person who receives it has received what was designed for them.
The Preacher has looked at everything: wealth (insufficient), wisdom (grieving), pleasure (empty), achievement (forgotten), legacy (uncertain). And his answer to all of it: eat. Drink. Enjoy your work. Every day. From God's hand. As your portion.
Stop chasing what God didn't assign. Receive what He did. The portion is enough. The days are numbered. And the enjoyment — if you'll receive it — is waiting on today's table.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Behold that which I have seen,.... Observed, considered and approved of, and which he recommended and excited attention…
Rather, Behold what I have seen to be good, it is pleasant for a man to eat. Such thankful enjoyment is inculcated by…
Solomon, from the vanity of riches hoarded up, here infers that the best course we can take is to use well what we have,…
Behold that which I have seen The thinker returns to the maxim of a calm regulated Epicureanism, as before in chs. Ecc…
Cross References
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