Ecclesiastes 3:12

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,

De 28:63; Ps 37:3; Ec 3:22; Ec 9:7-9; Isa 64:5; Lu 11:41; Ac 20:35; Php 4:4-9; 1Th 5:15,16; 1Ti 6:18

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).