Left without any way to test what happens to the human spirit after death, Qoheleth now offers advice that he thinks appropriate under the circumstances. We meet for the third time the call to enjoyment (see also 2.24; 3.12).

As this verse ends a major section, it may be possible to mark this important conclusion by special discourse markers. Revised Standard Version goes in this direction with the conjunction So. Bible en français courant uses a conclusive “Then.” If it seems natural in the translator’s language, this verse can be treated as a separate paragraph. In many languages, however, its position as the last verse in the chapter may serve to show that it is an important concluding remark.

So I saw that frequently introduces Qoheleth’s conclusions based on what he has observed. Since there is no way he can answer questions about what happens after death, Qoheleth gives the most positive advice possible.

There is nothing better than that a man should enjoy his work means that there is nothing more rewarding than enjoying what God gives. Whereas in other examples of the theme of enjoyment there is reference to “eating,” “drinking,” and “working,” here there is only the one word work, of finding pleasure in everything a person does. Because of the very broad meaning of the word “do,” it is probable that here it includes all the other activities normally listed in the calls to enjoyment rather than merely describing a person’s job of work or “labor.”

The singular a man should be rendered by a term that applies to either male or female, such as “a person,” “a human,” or the plural “people” or “human beings.”

For that is his lot presents the basic conclusion that this is what God has proposed for us. The singular pronoun that following the plural “works” suggests that the pronoun refers not to “works” but to the task of enjoying what we do (as in 2.24-25). This fact can be made clear in translation. What Revised Standard Version translates as lot requires comment, as the actual text has the word “portion.” A “lot” means an assigned task, whereas “portion” indicates that enjoyment is actually our reward when we do what God asks of us. This understanding links this saying with the other “better” sayings, in which God provides enjoyment. For this reason Good News Translation “There is nothing else we can do” and its footnoted possibilities are not appropriate models.

In some languages, especially in Africa, the literal idea of “portion” (of food) is often extended to mean other nonphysical benefits. Thus a more literal translation here may be very effective.

One possible translation is:

• So I concluded that the best thing people can do is to enjoy their work. Enjoyment is our reward.

Who can bring him to see what will be after him?: this clause, like the one before it, begins with the particle ki. It probably is intended as a second justification for the advice about enjoyment. Again we note that the rhetorical question is really a negative statement that nobody can tell what happens after death. The phrase what will be after him has two possible meanings: one is what happens to the individual after passing from this world; the other is what happens here on earth after a person departs from it. In this context it is probably the first meaning that is intended. We may translate it “for nobody can demonstrate what happens to us after we die” or “because no one is able to show people what happens after death.” The Good News Translation model is also acceptable.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .