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.
Live joyfully (literally, see or enjoy life) with the wife whom thou lovest - godly and true love, opposed to the "snares" of the "thousand" concubines (Ecclesiastes 7:26; Ecclesiastes 7:28), "among" whom Solomon could not find the true love which joins one man to one woman (Proverbs 5:15; Proverbs 5:18-19; Proverbs 18:22; Proverbs 19:14). The wife here is regarded not so much as the source, as the companion of the godly joy of the husband. Turn away thine eye from present vexations, and fix upon the glorious future, and meanwhile enjoy cheerfully the little joys which God giveth thee in the midst of this vain life.
All the days of thy vanity. This phrase is twice repeated, to imply that we ought not to seal up the sources of enjoyment which God still opens as to us in a life which is attended with so much of vanity and sorrow by reason of the fall.