Ecclesiastes 3:12

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

Additional Resources

Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 3:22 : 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
  • Ps 37:3 : 3 Trust in the LORD and do what is good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
  • Deut 28:63 : 63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so it will please Him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
  • Eccl 9:7-9 : 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your works. 8 Let your clothes always be white, and do not let oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your portion in life and in your hard work under the sun.
  • Isa 64:5 : 5 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. We wither like a leaf, and our sins carry us away like the wind.
  • Luke 11:41 : 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.'
  • Acts 20:35 : 35 In all this, I have shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
  • Phil 4:4-9 : 4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think about these things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
  • 1 Thess 5:15-16 : 15 See that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good, both for one another and for everyone. 16 Rejoice always.
  • 1 Tim 6:18 : 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 3:21-22
    2 verses
    87%

    21Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth?

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 2:20-26
    7 verses
    86%

    20So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

    21For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

    23All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

    24There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

    25For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 3:13-14
    2 verses
    83%

    13And also that every person should eat, drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

    14I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it nor taken from it. God does this so that people will fear Him.

  • Eccl 8:14-17
    4 verses
    83%

    14There is a futility that takes place on the earth: righteous people receive what the wicked deserve, and wicked people receive what the righteous deserve. I said, 'This too is vanity.'

    15So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

    16When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the work that is done on earth, even though people do not see sleep with their eyes day or night,

    17then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 3:9-11
    3 verses
    81%

    9What does the worker gain from all their toil?

    10I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

    11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

  • Eccl 5:18-19
    2 verses
    80%

    18Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and enables them to enjoy it, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

    19For they seldom reflect on the days of their life because God keeps them occupied with joy in their hearts.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    79%

    11The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 2:1-3
    3 verses
    78%

    1I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

    2I said of laughter, 'It is madness,' and of joy, 'What does it accomplish?'

    3I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

  • Eccl 2:10-11
    2 verses
    77%

    10Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts.

    11Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

  • Eccl 9:1
    77%

    1So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

  • Eccl 4:3
    77%

    3But better than both is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    76%

    9Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your portion in life and in your hard work under the sun.

    10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

  • Eccl 7:14
    76%

    14When times are good, be joyful; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

  • Eccl 3:1
    76%

    1There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.

  • Eccl 2:17
    76%

    17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 11:8-9
    2 verses
    76%

    8For if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them, but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is meaningless.

    9Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be glad in the days of your prime. Follow the ways of your heart and the sights of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

  • Eccl 3:17-18
    2 verses
    75%

    17I said in my heart, 'God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.'

    18I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

  • Eccl 1:3
    75%

    3What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 9:3
    75%

    3This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    75%

    13I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:16
    75%

    16There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 9:7
    75%

    7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your works.

  • Eccl 8:6
    74%

    6For every purpose there is a proper time and procedure, though the misery of mankind weighs heavily upon them.

  • Eccl 6:1
    74%

    1There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

  • Job 34:9
    74%

    9For he has said, 'A man gains nothing by delighting in God.'

  • Eccl 8:9
    74%

    9I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

  • Eccl 1:17
    74%

    17Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.