¹² I know that nothing is ^(A)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that ^(B)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

⁷ And ^(A)there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and ^(B)you shall rejoice in ^[a]all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

^15 (A)So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

^24 (A)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, ^[a]more than I? ²⁶ For God gives ^(B)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that ^(C)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen: ^(A)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; ^(B)for it is his ^[a]heritage.

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, ^(A)and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹ So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to ^(B)send portions and rejoice greatly, because they ^(C)understood the words that were declared to them.

The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle^(A)

16 So ^(B)they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ² And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ^(C)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³ Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.