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 that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

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

• I have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• nothingאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
• is betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• thanמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• that manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• should be happyשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
• in his activitiesמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• for that is his lotחֵ֫לֶקchêleq · portionH2506
• For whoמִיmîy · who?H4310
• will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• will occurהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:22

• Ecclesiastes 3:11He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
• Ecclesiastes 2:10All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.
• Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.
• Ecclesiastes 8:15So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 9:7Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
• Deuteronomy 12:7There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
• Deuteronomy 26:10Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God;
• Deuteronomy 28:47“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;
• Revelation 12:11And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
• Philippians 4:4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
• Ecclesiastes 8:7If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?
• Ecclesiastes 9:12Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
• Ecclesiastes 10:14Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?
• Job 14:21His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive 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