Ecclesiastes 3:22

Ecclesiastes 3:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
• English Standard Version (ESV)So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:22

20All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. 21Who knows if the spirit of man ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? So I have seen that there is nothing better than that a man should be happy in his own works and activities, for that is his portion (share). For who will bring him [back] to see what will happen after he is gone?

Ecclesiastes 3:22 word by word

וְרָאִ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין טוֹב֙ מֵאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׂמַ֤ח הָאָדָם֙ בְּֽמַעֲשָׂ֔יו כִּי־ה֖וּא חֶלְק֑וֹ כִּ֣י מִ֤י יְבִיאֶ֙נּוּ֙ לִרְא֔וֹת בְּמֶ֖ה שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore I perceiveרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• nothing betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• than that a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• should rejoiceשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
• in his own worksמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• his portionחֵ֫לֶקchêleq · portionH2506
• for who shall bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• what shall be afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:22

• Ecclesiastes 3:11He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
• Ecclesiastes 2:10Whatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.
• Ecclesiastes 5:18Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.
• Ecclesiastes 8:15Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 9:7Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, young man, in your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant in the days of your young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desires of your eyes, but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.
• Deuteronomy 12:7And there you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all to which you put your hand, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
• Deuteronomy 26:10And now, look, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall place it before the Lord your God, and shall worship before the Lord your God;
• Deuteronomy 28:47“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with a heart full of joy and gladness for the abundance of all things [with which He blessed you],
• Revelation 12:11And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.
• Philippians 4:4Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice!
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who [limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?
• Ecclesiastes 8:7For no one knows what will happen; So who can tell him how and when it will happen?
• Ecclesiastes 9:12For man also does not know his time [of death]; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds caught in the snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud suddenly falls on them.
• Ecclesiastes 10:14Yet the fool multiplies words, though no man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after he is gone?
• Job 14:21His sons achieve honor, and he does not know it; They become insignificant, and he is not aware of it.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22A man should rejoice in his own works - Do not turn God's blessings into sin by perverseness and complaining; make the best of life. God will sweeten its bitters to you, if you be faithful. Remember this is the state to prepare for glory; and the evils of life may be so sanctified to you as to work for your good. Though even wretched without, you may be happy within; for God can make all grace to abound towards you. You may be happy if you please; cry to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22enjoy his work: Work is now a separate source of enjoyment, different from food and drink (compare Ecclesiastes 2:24–25; 3:12–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. (Compare Ec 3:12; 5:18). Inculcating a thankful enjoyment of God's gifts, and a cheerful discharge of man's duties, founded on fear of God; not as the sensualist (Ec 11:9); not as the anxious money-seeker (Ec 2:23; 5:10-17). his portion--in the present life. If it were made his main portion, it would be "vanity" (Ec 2:1; Lu 16:25). for who, &c.--Our ignorance as to the future, which is God's "time" (Ec 3:11), should lead us to use the present time in…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:22

• Happiness

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Bring
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings