Chapter 3

1 By the necessary change of times, vanity is added to human travail. 11 There is an excellency in God’s works. 16 But as for man, God shall judge his works there, and here he shall be like a beast.

1. Season. Literally, “an appointed time,” from a root meaning “to determine,” “to decree.” A season is therefore not merely a convenient time, but a decreed time. God has ordained certain seasons for the various natural phenomena (see Lam. 3:37; cf. James 4:15).

Time. From a common Hebrew word for “time,” often signifying the beginning of a period of time.

Purpose. From a Hebrew word whose root means “to take delight in,” “to have pleasure in.” The noun, therefore, basically means, “that in which one takes delight,” a vocation or an avocation. This same noun is translated “pleasure” in Isa. 58:3, 13; Mal. 1:10, and “delight” in Ps. 1:2; 16:3.

2. To be born. Some regard the verb form as active and translate it, “a time to bring forth.” However, most scholars contend that the verb should be understood intransitively, and hence prefer the translation, “to be born.”

To die. Birth and death are, naturally, the two most important events in a person’s life. A man has no control over the time of his entrance into the world, and under ordinary circumstances little control over the time of his exit from it.

To plant. This expression corresponds to the one that precedes it, “to plant” being the counterpart of “to bring forth,” and “to pluck up,” of “to die.” The one is concerned with human life and the second with plant life.

To pluck up. Literally, “to root up.” There comes a time when even the finest fruit trees must be cut down.

3. To kill. Commentators disagree as to whether Solomon here refers to war or to other circumstances. It is possible that he is speaking of the execution of criminals, and of measures for the protection of threatened communities. Or he may be thinking of an injured domestic animal, and the fact that the extent of injury must determine whether it is more merciful to put the creature out of its misery or to attempt to “heal” it.

To break down. There is a time when buildings must be demolished and more convenient ones put up in their stead. For millenniums it has been a common habit in the Near East to utilize the ruins of one civilization as building materials for the new. Solomon may here refer to his own great building projects.

4. To weep. It is a good thing at times to allow pent-up emotions to express themselves. Israel wept bitterly in exile (Ps. 137:1). Also, the day will come when God’s people will laugh (Ps. 52:1–6).

To mourn. The word translated “mourn” is a technical term used for the loud, public lamentations and expressions of grief indulged in by Eastern peoples (see 2 Sam. 3:31; Jer. 4:8; 9:17–22; 49:3).

To dance. In ancient times dancing was an important part of religious and festive ceremonies, particularly in the East (see 2 Sam. 6:14, 16; 1 Chron. 15:29; cf. Matt. 11:17; see on Ex. 15:20; 32:19).

5. To cast away stones. Reference is probably here made to cleaning the fields of the stones that impede cultivation, and then using them to build demarcation walls as boundaries and retaining walls for fields and vineyards (see Isa. 5:2, 5).

To embrace. Perhaps a euphemism for the marital relations of husband and wife (see Prov. 5:20), or perhaps a figurative expression for idleness (see Eccl. 4:5, where “the fool foldeth his hands”).

6. To get. Literally, “to seek,” the common Hebrew term for searching or seeking.

To lose. Perhaps better, “to give up as lost,” which would balance the expression “to seek.” The reference here may be to the lost member of the flock or herd. The pressing of an intensive search might lead to unpleasant reactions from neighboring families, or might prove futile.

To cast away. Compare the following as illustrations of this expression: 2 Kings 7:15; Prov. 11:24, 25; Jonah 1:5; Matt. 16:25; Acts 27:18, 19, 38.

7. To rend. Compare Gen. 37:29; 2 Sam. 1:11; 1 Kings 11:11; 2 Chron. 23:13; Job 1:20; 2:12.

To keep silence. There are circumstances under which “silence is golden” (see Lev. 10:3).

8. To love. Compare the words of Christ in Matt. 5:43, 44.

Of war. Perhaps one illustration of the truth of this statement is that the battle of the great day of the Lord, yet to come (Rev. 16:15–17), will be followed by everlasting peace (Rev. 21; 22).

9. What profit? See on ch. 1:3. Solomon’s question implies a negative reply. Why should man toil to improve his status in life when he is thwarted at every turn? He must learn that the One who places tests along life’s pathway is a loving Father, disciplining His earthborn children for their eternal good (see Heb. 12:11; Rev. 3:19–21).

10. Travail. See on ch. 1:13. The stern discipline of life necessary for the seeker after immortality (see Rom. 2:6, 7) is all under the hand of an omnipotent, loving Father. Yet man is free to choose his own way of life, to develop his own character, and to decide his own eternal destiny. The practical difficulties of life can be met successfully only under God’s leading.

11. Beautiful. Compare the account in Gen. 1:31, of God’s work in creation. Not only was everything “good,” but beautiful also, aesthetically pleasing; not only perfect for practical use, but lovely in its appeal to the eye and to the taste. This was true not only of some things but of “every thing.”

Also. This word suggests an additional point that the author would not have the reader overlook.

Set. Literally, “given.” This meaning should be emphasized, as it suggests the goodness of God in supplying man’s needs.

The world. Heb. Фolam, from a root meaning “to conceal.” ФOlam therefore signifies that which is obscure. For a further discussion of the meaning of Фolam, see on Ex. 12:14; 21:6. The translation of Фolam as “world” is most unusual; it appears more commonly as “eternity,” “enduring,” “continuity.” Deeply implanted within man is a concern for the future. This awareness of the infinite in time and space stirs dissatisfaction with the transitory nature of the things of this life. See on v. 14.

In their heart. That is, in their thoughts. It is God’s design that man realize that the present, material world does not constitute the sum of his existence. He is linked to two worlds, physically to this world, but mentally, emotionally, and psychologically to the eternal world. Even with his consciousness beclouded by sin, man seems dimly aware that he ought to continue living beyond the narrow confines of this unsatisfying life.

No man can find out. The unaided human intellect cannot enter into the intricacies of God’s created marvels or the mysteries of eternity that God has not seen fit to reveal. This fact in itself should lead men to seek a closer union with the God of all creation.

12. Them. That is, the “sons of men.”

13. Also. See on v. 11.

Eat and drink. An ascetic life is contrary to God’s will for man. It was the will of the Creator that man enjoy, in moderation, the good things provided for his needs and happiness.

14. For ever. From the same Hebrew word translated “world” in v. 11 (see on v. 11). Here Solomon affirms the effective immutability of the divine will, operative in the affairs of men (see Ps. 33:11; Isa. 46:10).

Men should fear. Not abject fear (see on Deut. 4:10; 6:5) but a reverential awe based on an enlightened understanding of the divine attributes (Ps. 40:3; 64:9) and the operation of the divine will in human affairs (see Isa. 45:18; Mal. 3:6; cf. Rev. 15:3, 4).

15. That which hath been. This verse presents a word picture of the completeness and permanency of God’s works. In a sense there is with Him no past and no future; eternity is ever present (see Rev. 1:8).

God requireth. Literally, “God seeks.”

That which is past. Literally, “the pursued,” from radaph, “to pursue,” “to chase,” “to persecute.” It is translated “pursue” in Joshua 8:16 and “persecute” in Jer. 29:18. The idea here may be that all things in past time are open before God as if they were present; He projects His thinking into the past as readily as He thinks in terms of the present or the future. If this be the meaning, “the pursued” would refer to the cycles of past ages, personified as if they were pursuing one another.

16. The place of judgment. Or, “the place of justice,” that is, the place dedicated to the administration of justice. Bribery and corruption resulted in enthronement of wickedness in the very courts sacred to the dispensing of justice.

Iniquity. From the same Hebrew word translated “wickedness.” In both instances the word “wickedness” is preferable. By the word “righteousness” Solomon designates the person of the judge, who is supposed to be the embodiment, or personification, of right dealing. Thus the first expression indicates the place, and the second, the person who sits in authority in that place.

17. God shall judge. The Hebrew verb “to judge,” used with reference to God, expresses the concept that He is not only the one who will act as arbiter to decide the cases of the righteous and the wicked, but also the one who executes the penalty.

Every purpose. See on v. 1. The same Hebrew word is translated “pleasure” in Eccl. 5:4; 12:1; Isa. 44:28; 46:10; Mal. 1:10, and “delightsome” in Mal. 3:12.

Work. See on ch. 1:14.

18. The estate. Compare “the order [manner]” (Ps. 110:4). A better translation of the entire phrase here would be simply “concerning the sons of men.”

Manifest. Literally, “purify,” “select,” “test,” “prove.” In Isa. 52:11 the verb is translated “be ye clean,” in Dan. 11:35, “to purge,” in Dan. 12:10, “shall be purified.” Solomon thus expresses the desire that God test men as a disciplinary measure, in order to cleanse and purify them (see Job 5:17; 23:10; see on Eccl. 3:19).

That they might see. There is hope for the man who recognizes his sinful and unclean condition.

Beasts. Usually translated “cattle.” It is from the root “to be dumb,” and is related to an Arabic word meaning “to be impeded in speech,” “to be tongue-tied.”

19. Befalleth. Three times in this verse we have this English word. In each of the three instances of its occurrence in v. 19 this word is from a Hebrew term meaning “chance,” “fate,” “fortune.” It is from the verb “to encounter,” “to meet,” “to befall.” In Ruth 2:3 the noun form of the word is given as “hap,” in 1 Sam. 6:9 as “chance,” in 1 Sam. 20:26 as “something hath befallen,” and in Eccl. 9:2, 3 as “event.”

Dieth. That inscrutable phenomenon, death, is the lot of all living creatures, whether man or beast. The psalmist says that “man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish” (Ps. 49:12). In the matter of being subject to death, man is in no way superior to beasts.

Breath. Heb. ruach. When the breath of life departs, the living creature dies, whether it be man or animal (see on v. 21).

No preeminence. All living creatures are identical in that, with the cessation of breath, the creature dies; the physical consequences of death are the same. Outward appearances suggest no superiority for man. But through faith in the Inspired Word we believe that God will redeem man from the power of the grave (1 Cor. 15:51–58).

20. One place. That is, the grave (see Job 7:9, 10).

Dust. See Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Dan. 12:2.

21. Who knoweth? The RSV reads, “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward?” Without divine wisdom no one “knows.” The destiny of the body is known—it returns to dust, through a process of disintegration—but human wisdom cannot ascertain what happens to the “spirit,” or “breath,” except that it “shall return unto God” (see on ch. 12:7).

Spirit. Heb. ruach, “breath,” as it is translated in v. 19. The life principle does not belong to the physical realm, the realm of flesh, for it is of God and returns to Him (ch. 12:7). In v. 21 ruach is translated “spirit.” Note that man and beast both have a ruach, and that the ruach of man is “one” with that of the beast. If, then, the ruach, or “spirit,” of man becomes a disembodied conscious entity at death, the ruach of beasts must also. But the Bible nowhere so much as infers that at death a disembodied, conscious “spirit” continues to live on; and no Christian claims this for animals. In v. 21 Solomon incredulously asks who knows—who can prove—that the ruach of man ascends, while that of the beast descends. Solomon knows nothing of such a proceeding and doubts that anyone else does. If so, let him prove it. It is important to distinguish between the use of ruach to denote the literal breath (see Job 9:18; 19:17) and its figurative use denoting the life principle (see Gen. 6:17; 7:22), as here. The figurative use of ruach to mean “life” is similar to the figurative use of “blood” (see on Gen. 4:10; 9:4).

22. Rejoice in his own works. That is, find contentment and satisfaction in what this life has to offer. This is the normal outlook of the man who does not have faith firmly based on eternal things.

What shall be? What lies beyond the grave is outside the scope of human knowledge. Similarly, it is beyond human power to bring a dead person back from the grave. God alone can do so (see 1 Thess. 4:14–18). There are Christians today who, like the Sadducees of old, have no faith in a future resurrection. But God is the God of the living (see Matt. 22:23–32), and “sons of God” (1 John 3:1, 2) will live again. Life beyond the grave has been made a certainty by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:16–22; 2 Tim. 1:10).

Ellen G. White comments

11  Ed 198, 248

12   ML 166

14        DA 769; Ed 50; PP 754