13 And I (A)set my [a]mind to seek and (B)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [b]a grievous (C)task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit an evil

13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(A) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(B)

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10 I have seen the (A)task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11 He has (B)made everything [a]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [b]yet so that man (C)will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 3:11 Lit beautiful
  2. Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or without which man

10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.(A) 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.(B) He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom(C) what God has done from beginning to end.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that

17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that (A)man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and (B)though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

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17 then I saw all that God has done.(A) No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.(B)

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