Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 3:12
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Teacher addresses readers reflecting on God’s sovereign timing and human inability to fathom His work from beginning to end.
The words — יָדַ֕עְתִּי (yaDa'ti) = I know and אֵ֥ין ('ein) = there is not.
The thread — The text links human joy and moral action to divine provision, echoing Ecclesiastes 3:22, Psalms 37:3, and 1 Timothy 6:18.
Why it lands — The text states that rejoicing and doing good is the optimal course for the living. It requires readers to accept present joy and active righteousness as the proper response to God’s unsearchable work.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Ecclesiastes 3:22 I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
- 1 Timothy 6:18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15 Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.
- Acts 20:35 In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
- Isaiah 64:5 You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?
- Luke 11:41 But give as alms the things that are within you, and behold, everything will be clean for you.
- Deuteronomy 28:63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: