Ecclesiastes 3:22

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ² 

because that is their ³  reward;

for who can show them what the future holds? ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 6:12

6:12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life ⁵  –

during the few days of his fleeting life –

for ⁶  they pass away ⁷  like a shadow.

Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 8:7

8:7 Surely no one knows the future, ⁹ 

and no one can tell another person what will happen. ¹⁰ 

James 4:13-14

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ¹¹  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You ¹²  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ¹³  For you are a puff of smoke ¹⁴  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

[3:22]  ¹ tn Heb “man.”

[3:22]  ² tn Heb “his works.”

[3:22]  ³ tn Heb “his.”

[3:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “what will be after him” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV) or “afterward” (cf. NJPS).

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “For who knows what is good for a man in life?” The rhetorical question (“For who knows…?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one knows…!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.

[6:12]  ⁶ tn The vav prefixed to וְיַעֲשֵׂם (vÿya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) functions in an explanatory or epexegetical sense (“For …”).

[6:12]  ⁷ tn The 3rd person masculine plural suffix on the verb וְיַעֲשֵׂם (vÿya’asem, conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from ָָעשַׂה, ’asah, “to do” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) refers to מִסְפַּר יְמֵי־חַיֵּי הֶבְלוֹ (mispar yÿme-khayye hevlo, “the few days of his fleeting life”). The suffix may be taken as an objective genitive: “he spends them [i.e., the days of his life] like a shadow” (HALOT 891 s.v. I ָָעשַׂה 8) or as a subjective genitive: “they [i.e., the days of his life] pass like a shadow” (BDB 795 s.v. ָָעשַׂה II.11).

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “Who can tell the man what shall be after him under the sun?” The rhetorical question (“For who can tell him…?”) is a negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “For no one can tell him…!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51). The translation renders this rhetorical device as a positive affirmation.

[8:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “what will be.”

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Who can tell him what will be?”

[4:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “city.”

[4:14]  ¹² tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ¹³ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).