Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 5:18 
Context5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: 1
to eat and drink, 2 and find enjoyment in all their 3 hard work 4 on earth 5
during the few days of their life which God has given them,
for this is their reward. 6
Ecclesiastes 8:17
Context8:17 then I discerned all that God has done: 7
No one really comprehends what happens 8 on earth. 9
Despite all human 10 efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp 11 it. 12
Even if 13 a wise person claimed 14 that he understood,
he would not really comprehend 15 it. 16
Ecclesiastes 11:9
Context11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, 17
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Follow the impulses 18 of your heart and the desires 19 of your eyes,
but know that God will judge your motives and actions. 20
1 tn Heb “Behold, that which I have seen, I, good which is beautiful.” The phrase “for people” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).
3 tn Heb “his,” and three times later in the verse.
4 tn Heb “the toil which one toils.”
5 tn Heb “under the sun.”
6 tn The term חֵלֶק (kheleq, “lot”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) “share of spoils” (Gen 14:24; Num 31:36; 1 Sam 30:24), (2) “portion of food” (Lev 6:10; Deut 18:8; Hab 1:16), (3) “portion [or tract] of land” (Deut 10:9; 12:12; Josh 19:9), (4) “portion” or “possession” (Num 18:20; Deut 32:9), (5) “inheritance” (2 Kgs 9:10; Amos 7:4), (6) “portion” or “award” (Job 20:29; 27:13; 31:2; Isa 17:14) or “profit; reward” (Eccl 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9); see HALOT 323 s.v. II חֵלֶק; BDB 324 s.v. חֵלֶק. Throughout Ecclesiastes, the term is used in reference to man’s temporal profit from his labor and his reward from God (e.g., Eccl 3:22; 9:9).
7 tn Heb “all the work of God.”
8 tn Heb “the work that is done.”
9 tn Heb “under the sun.”
10 tn Heb “his”; the referent (man, in a generic sense) has been specified in the translation as the adjective “human” for clarity.
11 tn Heb “find.”
12 tn The term “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
13 tn The particle אִם (’im, “even if”) introduces the protasis in a real conditional clause (“If a wise man …”); see IBHS 636-37 §38.2d; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 74, §453.
14 tn The imperfect tense verb יֹאמַר (yo’mar, “to say”) functions in a modal sense, denoting possibility (see IBHS 508 §31.4e; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 31, §169).
15 tn Heb “he cannot find”; or “he does not find.”
16 tn The term “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is an implied direct object and has been supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”
18 tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”
19 tn Heb “the sight.”
20 tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.
