Ecclesiastes 3:10-11
What is written? (ESV)
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
What does it say?
I’ve seen what God has tasked mankind to be engaged in, and He has made everything to be beautiful in its time. He has also placed within each person eternity in their heart, yet has limited him in knowing all that God does from beginning to end.
What is its immediate context?
The preceding poem lists appointed times for human activities (vss 1-8), followed by the question of what gain workers have (vs 9).
How Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 is applied across Bible answers
How do we know God?
God has placed the yearning for a higher purpose ("eternity") in the heart of mankind, while at the same time He has kept him from being able to know or answer the question on his own.
How God has limited man's ability to "find out what God has done" is qualified in the overall context of Ecclesiastes. The qualification is best articulated in the close of the book with the conclusion to, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (12:13)
