Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 3:13 
Context3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,
for these things 1 are a gift from God.
Ecclesiastes 7:13
Context7:13 Consider the work of God:
For who can make straight what he has bent?
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Context12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the life’s breath 2 returns to God who gave it.
1 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.
2 tn Or “spirit.” The likely referent is the life’s breath that originates with God. See Eccl 3:19, as well as Gen 2:7; 6:17; 7:22.
