Ecclesiastes 3:10 (ASV)

Passage

I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seen", "travail", "hath", "given", "sons", "exercised", and "therewith". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seen" and "travail", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "What profit hath he that worketh in..." into verse 11's "He hath made everything beautiful in its...", so "seen" and "travail" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "seen" and "travail" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.