Ecclesiastes 3:12–13

Enjoy Life in the Present

3:12 I have concluded21 that there is nothing better for people22

than23 to be happy and to enjoy

themselves24 as long as they live,

3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,

for these things25 are a gift from God.

21	tn Heb “I know.”
22	tn Heb “for them”; the referent (people, i.e., mankind) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23	tn Qoheleth uses the exceptive particle אִם … כִּי (ki …’ im, “except”) to identify the only exception to the futility within man’s life (BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 2).
24	tn Heb “to do good.” The phrase לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב (la’asot tov) functions idiomatically for “to experience [or see] happiness [or joy].” The verb עָשַׂה (’asah) probably denotes “to acquire; to obtain” (BDB 795 s.v. עָשַׂה II.7), and טוֹב (tov) means “good; pleasure; happiness,” e.g., Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:17 (BDB 375 s.v. טוֹב 1).
25	tn Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding statement: “to eat, drink, and find satisfaction.” This would be an example of an anacoluthon (GKC 505–6 §167.b). Thus the present translation uses “these things” to indicate the reference back to the preceding.