Ecclesiastes 3:10

Ecclesiastes 3:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
• New International Version (NIV)I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:10

8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 9What benefit can a worker gain from his toil? I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied. 11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives. 12I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,

Ecclesiastes 3:10 word by word

רָאִ֣יתִי אֶת־הָֽעִנְיָ֗ן אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֧ן אֱלֹהִ֛ים לִבְנֵ֥י הָאָדָ֖ם לַעֲנ֥וֹת בּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the travailעִנְיָן‛inyân · taskH6045
• which Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• to the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• to be exercisedעָנָה‛ânâh · be occupiedH6031

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:10

• Ecclesiastes 1:3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
• Ecclesiastes 5:16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
• Proverbs 14:23In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.
• Matthew 16:26For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10I have seen the travail - Man is a sinner; and, because he is such, he suffers.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men: God made our work harder after humans rebelled against Him (Genesis 3:17–19). This burden is not too heavy for us to enjoy our work and its rewards (Ecclesiastes 3:11213).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. (See on Ec 1:13).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Dance
• Judge
• Exercise
• Providence
• 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