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,
3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,
for these things 5 are a gift from God.
3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever;
nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it.
God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
3:15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been;
for God will seek to do again 6 what has occurred 7 in the past. 8
3:16 I saw something else on earth: 9
In the place of justice, there was wickedness,
and in the place of fairness, 10 there was wickedness.
3:17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked;
for there is an appropriate time for every activity,
and there is a time of judgment 11 for every deed.
3:18 I also thought to myself, “It is 12 for the sake of people, 13
so God can clearly 14 show 15 them that they are like animals.
3:19 For the fate of humans 16 and the fate of animals are the same:
As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.
There is no advantage for humans over animals,
for both are fleeting.
3:20 Both go to the same place,
both come from the dust,
and to dust both return.
3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit 17 ascends upward,
and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?
3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people 18 to enjoy their work, 19
because that is their 20 reward;
for who can show them what the future holds? 21