Ecclesiastes3:10

Translation

I have seen

the depressing

task ELOHIM

has given the sons of men in which they are to be occupied;

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Paraphrase

I have observed the patterns of life and come to understand the depressing task THE RULER OVER ALL THINGS has ordained

mankind to be

wrapped up in.

Footnotes

1: “occupied”

This word usually means things like “afflicted, depressed, burdened, humbled,” but it can also mean “occupied in, or busy doing.” The latter is its usage in Ecclesiastes, however, the Hebrew readers would have seen this special meaning in light of the word’s root meaning and understood that the thing they were busy or occupied in was a depressing, burdensome thing. To express that idea in English I have placed the modifier “depressing” before the noun “task” instead of modifying this verb.