Ecclesiastes 3:22

And I have discovered nothing to be better than for a man to rejoice in his work: for this is his portion. And who shall add to him, so that he may know the things that will occur after him?

Catholic Public Domain Version

In The King James Version

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?

In Context

21Who knows if the spirit of the sons of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?

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Cross References

Deuteronomy 12:18But you shall eat these before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God will choose: you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man servant and woman servant, and the Levite who dwells in your cities. And you shall rejoice and be refreshed in the sight of the Lord your God by all the things to which you will extend your hand.

Deuteronomy 28:47Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with gladness and a joyful heart, over the abundance of all things.

Ecclesiastes 2:10And all that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. Neither did I prohibit my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and from amusing itself in the things that I had prepared. And I regarded this as my share, as if I were making use of my own labors.

Ecclesiastes 3:11He has made all things good in their time, and he has handed over the world to their disputes, so that man may not discover the work which God made from the beginning, even until the end.

Ecclesiastes 5:18And this is a gift from God: that every man to whom God has given wealth and resources, and to whom he has granted the ability to consume these, may enjoy his portion, and may find joy in his labors.

Ecclesiastes 8:7For he is ignorant of the past, and he is able to know nothing of the future by means of a messenger.

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 3:17-22

Immutability of God's Counsel; The Extent of Mortality. 16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the… Read the whole commentary →

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