3:9

What gain have the workers from their toil?

3:10

I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.

3:11

He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

3:12

I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;

3:13

moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.

3:14

I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him.

3:15

That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by. ^F12

FOOTNOTES:
F12: Heb [what is pursued]

3:9

But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does?

3:10

I've had a good look at what God has given us to do - busywork, mostly.

3:11

True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time - but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going.

3:12

I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life.

3:13

That's it - eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.

3:14

I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

3:15

Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That's how it always is with God.