All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Eccl. 1:8 (KJV)
The beginning and the end of the verse seem to follow the same message and reasoning that we’ve been following since verse 3. What’s interesting is the addition of human reason, or the lack thereof. The phrase, ‘a man cannot utter it,’ seem to signal this. The word ‘utter’ is derived from dāḇar דָּבַר which (in its proper sense) means to arrange, to subdue. (H1696)[1] The word ‘cannot’ is derived from yāḵōl יָכֹל which carry both a literal and a moral meaning; i.e., something literally impossible to do or morally impossible. (H3201)[2]
Comment:
It’s an interesting contrast to put man opposite to his own situation. It invokes a speculative urge to ask as to why man won’t see/understand the futility of his life and labour. Is it a willful ignorance? Or pure incapability? Scripture seems to indicate the latter. Labour as we speak of, was part of the original curse in Genesis 3. And prior to this, man had authority over the created world. He could utter it – subdue, as God’s steward on earth. Post fall, he is tied to futile labour; one he can’t understand, utter. This becomes his natural state. Verse 8 seems to be a reflection of the biblical reality of man; tied to a laborious life, one can’t undo, one can’t understand, one he can’t escape from.
Image: Albert Pinkham Ryder, Jonah (1885-1895)
[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1696/kjv/wlc/0-1/
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3201/kjv/wlc/0-1/