Ecclesiastes 3:11 (YLT)

Passage

The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

Ecclesiastes 3:13 yea, even every man who eateth and hath drunk and seen good by all his labour, it <FI>is<Fi> a gift of God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whole", "hath", "beautiful", "season", "knowledge", "heart", and "without". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whole" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "I have seen the travail that God..." into verse 12's "I have known that there is no...", so "whole" and "hath" 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 "whole" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.