Ecclesiastes 3:12 (KJV)

Passage

I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

Nearby Context

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

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good", "rejoice", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good" and "rejoice", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "He hath made every thing beautiful in..." into verse 13's "And also that every man should eat...", so "good" and "rejoice" 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 "good" and "rejoice" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.