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Ecclesiastes 3:22

in Ecclesiastes 3

I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him?

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?

This verse in Ecclesiastes 3

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes · Written before 420.

"I therefore observed that there is nothing better for man than to be happy in what he is doing, for that is his lot. For who can enable him to see what will be after him? " Instead of that which we have as "to see what will be after him", Symmachus interprets it more clearly saying, "so that he sees those things which will be after these ones". Therefore nothing is good in life, unless a man is happy in his work, doing acts of sympathy, and obtaining his future reward in the realm of heaven.

This site's exposition

All go to one place

on Ecclesiastes 3:20-22

All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust states what the eye sees at any grave. The Teacher then asks Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth.

This site's exposition

because that is his lot

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read lot as his portion in the present life, which becomes futile if a man makes it his chief portion. Wesley reads the last question: once dead, a man never returns to see who holds his estate. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the future God's time.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

And I perceived etc. In the fourth place, on account of this likening, he subjoins how he fell into an erroneous commendation of pleasure, as if nothing were better than it. On account of which he says: I perceived that there is nothing better than …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): There is nothing better, as to this world, nothing better to be had out of our wealth and honour, than that a man should rejoice in his own works, that is, (1.) Keep a clear conscience, and never admit iniquity into the place of righteousness.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Should rejoice - That he comfortably enjoys what God hath given him. His portion - This is the benefit of his labours. For - When once he is dead he shall never return to see into whose hands his estate falls.
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

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 the best sense and leave the future to His infinite wisdom (Mt 6:20, 25, 31-34).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

A 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.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְרָאִ֗יתִיand I saw

    veraitiH7200 →1300 times

  • כִּ֣יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • אֵ֥יןthere not

    ʾeinH369 →789 times

  • טוֹב֙[is] good

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • מֵאֲשֶׁ֨רmore than that

    measherH834 →5497 times

  • יִשְׂמַ֤חhe will be happy

    yismachH8055 →155 times

  • הָאָדָם֙<the> humankind

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • בְּֽמַעֲשָׂ֔יוin work<s> his

    bemaasavH4639 →236 times

  • כִּי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • ה֖וּאthat

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

  • חֶלְק֑וֹ[is] portion his

    chelkoH2506 →67 times

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • מִ֤יwho?

    miH4310 →423 times

  • יְבִיאֶ֙נּוּ֙will he bring him

    yevienuH935 →2568 times

  • לִרְא֔וֹתto look

    lirotH7200 →1300 times

  • בְּמֶ֖הon whatever

    bemehH4100 →752 times

  • שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥הthat <it> will be

    sheiyihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • אַחֲרָֽיו׃after him

    ʾacharavH310 →715 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 2:24

    Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

    it leads to

    • Ecclesiastes 8:15

      So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his…

    • 1 Timothy 6:17

      Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…

    • Ecclesiastes 3:12–13

      I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

    • Ecclesiastes 5:18–19

      Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life…

    • Ecclesiastes 9:7–9

      Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 10:14

    Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?

    it leads to

    • Ecclesiastes 6:12

      For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 6:12

    For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him…

    it leads to

    • James 4:14

      You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

    • Job 14:2

      Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Where this verse is studied

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.