Ecclesiastes 3:22

Bible in Basic English (1941)

So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 6:12 : 12 Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?
  • Eccl 8:7 : 7 No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?
  • Eccl 10:14 : 14 The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him?
  • Eccl 2:24 : 24 There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.
  • Eccl 3:11-12 : 11 He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last. 12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.
  • Phil 4:4-5 : 4 Be glad in the Lord at all times: again I say, Be glad. 5 Let your gentle behaviour be clear to all men. The Lord is near.
  • Eccl 11:9 : 9 Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.
  • Dan 12:9-9 : 9 And he said, Go on your way, Daniel: for the words are secret and shut up till the time of the end; 10 Till a number are tested and make themselves clean; and the evil-doers will do evil; for not one of the evil-doers will have knowledge; but all will be made clear to those who are wise.
  • Dan 12:13 : 13 But you, go on your way and take your rest: for you will be in your place at the end of the days.
  • Matt 6:34 : 34 Then have no care for tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Take the trouble of the day as it comes.
  • Rom 12:11-12 : 11 Be not slow in your work, but be quick in spirit, as the Lord's servants; 12 Being glad in hope, quiet in trouble, at all times given to prayer,
  • Eccl 5:18-19 : 18 Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God. 19 He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.
  • Eccl 8:15 : 15 So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
  • Eccl 9:7-9 : 7 Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works. 8 Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil. 9 Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.
  • Eccl 9:12 : 12 Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them.
  • Deut 12:7 : 7 There you and all your families are to make a feast before the Lord your God, with joy in everything to which you put your hand, because the Lord has given you his blessing.
  • Deut 12:18 : 18 But they will be your food before the Lord your God in the place of his selection, where you may make a feast of them, with your son and your daughter, and your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite who is living with you: and you will have joy before the Lord your God in everything to which you put your hand.
  • Deut 26:10-11 : 10 So now, I have come here with the first of the fruits of the earth which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you will put it down before the Lord your God and give him worship: 11 And you will have joy in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and to your family; and the Levite, and the man from a strange land who is with you, will take part in your joy.
  • Deut 28:47 : 47 Because you did not give honour to the Lord your God, worshipping him gladly, with joy in your hearts on account of all your wealth of good things;
  • Job 14:21 : 21 His sons come to honour, and he has no knowledge of it; they are made low, but he is not conscious of it.
  • Eccl 2:10-11 : 10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward. 11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 3:9-14
    6 verses
    87%

    9 What profit has the worker in the work which he does?

    10 I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

    11 He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

    12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

    13 And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

    14 I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

  • Eccl 2:17-26
    10 verses
    86%

    17 So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

    18 Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

    19 And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

    20 So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

    21 Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

    22 What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

    23 All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

    24 There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

    25 Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

    26 To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 8:14-15
    2 verses
    82%

    14 There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

    15 So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

  • Eccl 5:18-19
    2 verses
    81%

    18 Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

    19 He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

  • Eccl 2:10-12
    3 verses
    80%

    10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

    11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

    12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    80%

    11 There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?

    12 Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

  • Eccl 3:21
    80%

    21 Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth?

  • Eccl 1:3
    79%

    3 What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    79%

    3 Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

    4 And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

  • Eccl 8:17
    78%

    17 Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    78%

    9 Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

    10 Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.

  • Eccl 2:1
    77%

    1 I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

  • Eccl 4:16
    77%

    16 There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 3:18-19
    2 verses
    77%

    18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

    19 Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 9:1
    77%

    1 All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    76%

    13 And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

    14 I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    76%

    7 Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

    8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

  • Eccl 11:8-9
    2 verses
    75%

    8 But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.

    9 Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

  • Eccl 7:14
    75%

    14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

  • Eccl 8:9
    75%

    9 All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

  • Eccl 5:16
    75%

    16 All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.

  • Eccl 1:9
    74%

    9 That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

  • Eccl 12:8
    74%

    8 All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 2:15
    74%

    15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.