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Ecclesiastes 3:11–14

11 He has amade everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot bfind out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is cnothing better for them than to be joyful and to ddo good as long as they live; 13 also ethat everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is fGod’s gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; gnothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

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Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — The New International Version (NIV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — New Living Translation (NLT)

11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it.

God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — New Century Version (NCV)

11 God has given them a desire to know the future. He does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing. 12 So I realize that the best thing for them is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 God wants all people to eat and drink and be happy in their work, which are gifts from God. 14 I know that everything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to what God has done, and they cannot take anything away from it. God does it this way to make people respect him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — American Standard Version (ASV)

11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time; also he hath set the world in their heart, so that man findeth not out from the beginning to the end the work that God doeth. 12 I know that there is nothing good for them but to rejoice and to do well in their life; 13 yea also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever; there is nothing to be added to it, nor anything to be taken from it; and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

11 It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time. He has put a sense of eternity in people’s minds. Yet, mortals still can’t grasp what God is doing from the beginning to the end ⸤of time⸥. 

12 I realize that there’s nothing better for them to do than to be cheerful and enjoy what is good in their lives. 13 It is a gift from God to be able to eat and drink and experience the good that comes from every kind of hard work. 

14 I realize that whatever God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away from it. God does this so that people will fear him. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. 14 I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. 14 I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

11 He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put the past in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end. 12 So I realized that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves during their lives. 13 And for anyone to eat and drink, that is, to enjoy the fruit of all his toil, this also is a gift of God.

14 I know everything God does endures forever;

nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it,

for God so acts that humans might stand in awe before him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also given men a sense of what he’s been doing down through the ages. But they can’t completely figure out what he’s done from the beginning to the end.

12 They should be happy and do good while they live. I know there’s nothing better for them to do than that. 13 Everyone should eat and drink. People should be satisfied with all of their hard work. That is God’s gift to them.

14 I know that everything God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it. And nothing can be taken from it. God does that so men will have respect for him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11–14 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

11 He 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.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.


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