Ecclesiastes 3:10 (DBY)

Passage

I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men to toil in.

Nearby Context

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

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men to toil in.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time; also he hath set the world in their heart, so that man findeth not out from the beginning to the end the work that God doeth.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing good for them but to rejoice and to do well in their life;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seen", "travail", "hath", "given", "sons", and "toil". 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 from..." 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.