I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
Parallel Translations
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I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
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I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
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I have seen the task which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 3:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 1:13-14 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
- Genesis 3:19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”
- Ecclesiastes 2:26 For to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Good News of God.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8 neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Read Eccl. 1:13.
Read Eccl. 1:13.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 3:10 I have seen the travail, which God…
Ecc 3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
Ver. 10. I have seen the travail that God, &c.] Not fortune, but Providence ordereth all cross occurrences; "a wheel" there is "within a wheel"; {Eze 1:1-28} then when men may think things run on wheels, at sixes and sevens, as they say. "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God." {1Pe 5:6} His holy hand hath a special stroke in all our travails. He both ordaineth {Act 2:1-47} and ordereth all, {Gen 1:20} altering the property, {Rom 8:28} and disposing them to good, raising profit from all. Thus men afflicted Job for covetousness, the devil for malice, {Ecc 1:15-16} God, for trial and exercise of his graces. "To be exercised therein," saith the text, or, as the word signifieth, to be "humbled therewith," to "hide pride from man," {Job 33:17} to tame and take him a link lower. "Their hearts are brought down," saith the prophet; "they speak out of the ground," {Isa 29:4} that erst set their mouths against heaven, and said, "I am, and besides me there is none."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I have seen, I have diligently observed and considered…
I have seen, I have diligently observed and considered upon this occasion,
the travail, or the occupation or business, men’s various employments, and the differing successes of them,
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which God hath given to the sons of men; either,
1. Which God hath imposed upon men as their duty; and therefore men must labour, although it brings them no profit, as was now said. Or,
2. Which God hath inflicted upon mankind as a just punishment for their sins; to which therefore men ought quietly to submit.
To be exercised in it; that hereby they might have constant matter of exercise for their diligence, and patience, and submission to God’s will and providence, and for all other graces. Or, that they might be afflicted or humbled therewith, as the same phrase is rendered by divers, Ecc 1:13.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I have seen the travail which God hath given…
I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men,.... The pains and trouble they are at to get a little wisdom and knowledge, Ecc 1:13; and so to obtain riches and honour, peace and plenty, which sometimes they do obtain, and sometimes not; and when they do, do not keep them long, for there is a time for everything. This the wise man had observed, in a variety of instances; and he considered the end of God in it, which was for men
to be exercised in it, or "by it"; or "to afflict" or "humble them by it" (l); to let them see that all their toil and labour signified little; all depended on a divine blessing, and no happiness was to be had in the creatures; all was vanity and vexation of spirit; See Gill on Ecc 1:13.
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(l) "ad affligendum se in ea", Montanus; "ut eos adfligat in ea, sc. per eam", Rambachius; "ut ea redderet humiles", Tigurine version.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Seen - I have diligently observed mens various employments,…
Seen - I have diligently observed mens various employments, and the different successes of them. Hath given - Which God hath imposed upon men as their duty; to which therefore men ought quickly to submit. Exercised - That hereby they might have constant matter of exercise for their diligence, and patience, and submission to God's will and providence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. I have seen the travail] Man is…
Verse 10. I have seen the travail] Man is a sinner; and, because he is such, he suffers.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ecc 3:10. I have seen the travail, &c. —…
Ecc 3:10. I have seen the travail, &c. — I have diligently observed men’s various employments, and the different successes of them. Which God hath given, &c. — Which God hath imposed upon men as their duty; to which therefore men ought quietly to submit. To be exercised — That hereby they might have constant matter of exercise for their diligence, and patience, and submission to God’s will and providence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (See on Ecc 1:13).
(See on Ecc 1:13).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. I have seen the travail — This verse…
10. I have seen the travail — This verse is preliminary to the next. Koheleth states his qualification to form the judgment there given. He has carefully scanned the various employments of men, the “travail “or business which it has pleased God to assign to each for his earthly occupation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. I have seen the travail, which God hath…
10. I have seen the travail, which God hath given] Better perhaps, I have seen the labour, or the business. As before, in the preceding verse, the thinker, once back in the old groove of thought, repeats himself, and we have the very words of ch. Ecc_1:13, but, as before, here also developed by a wider experience. In this feeling after the right “season” for each act, this craving for a harmony between man’s will and the divine order, he recognises a divinely implanted instinct which yet finds no full satisfaction.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 10-15. There is a plan and system in…
Vers. 10-15. There is a plan and system in all the circumstances of man"s life; he feels this instinctively, but he cannot comprehend it. His duty is to make the best of the present, and to recognize the immutability of the law that governs all things.
I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it; i.e. to busy themselves therewith. (Ecc_1:13) This travail, exercise, or business is the work that has to be done under the conditions prescribed of time and season in face of the difficulty of man"s free action and God"s ordering. We take infinite pains, we entertain ample desires, and strive restlessly to carry them out, but our efforts are controlled by a higher law, and results occur in the way and at the time arranged by Providence. Human labor, though it is appointed by God and is part of man"s heritage imposed upon him by the, (Gen_3:17, etc.) cannot bring contentment or satisfy the spirit"s cravings.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:10 the burden God has placed on us all:…
3:10 the burden God has placed on us all: God intensified the severity of our labor following humankind’s rebellion against him (Gen 3:17-19). This burden is not so great that we cannot enjoy our work and its fruits (Eccl 3:11-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.