Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 3:12 
Context3:12 I have concluded 1 that there is nothing better for people 2
than 3 to be happy and to enjoy
themselves 4 as long as they live,
Ecclesiastes 3:22
Context3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people 5 to enjoy their work, 6
because that is their 7 reward;
for who can show them what the future holds? 8
1 tn Heb “I know.”
2 tn Heb “for them”; the referent (people, i.e., mankind) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 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).
4 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).
5 tn Heb “man.”
6 tn Heb “his works.”
7 tn Heb “his.”
8 tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).
