---
title: Ecclesiastes 3:22 (JPS 1917) — Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man… · tree and pragmatics
description: Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? Who acts: I, nothing, man, that. Ecclesiastes 3:22 in JPS 1917 with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause
---

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# Ecclesiastes 3:22 · JPS 1917

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Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

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**Who acts:** I, nothing, man, that, other · **What happens:** perceive, be, rejoice, bring, see, work · **To what, where:** works, portion, other · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is Ecclesiastes 3:22 · JPS 1917 in the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, from Mova's open Bible corpus. The page gives the sentence's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, parsed by Mova and checked by a teacher model — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, nothing, man, that), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it. The original of the verse links back to its own tree and to the Targum.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = jps:ECC:72
# text = Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
1	Wherefore	wherefore	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	perceived	perceive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	6	expl	_	_
6	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	6	nsubj	_	_
8	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	7	amod	_	_
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
11	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
14	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	rejoice	rejoice	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	works	work	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obl	_	_
19	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	24	punct	_	_
20	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	24	nsubj	_	_
22	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	cop	_	_
23	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	portion	portion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	advcl	_	_
25	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	29	punct	_	_
26	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	29	mark	_	_
27	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	29	nsubj	_	_
28	shall	shall	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	29	aux	_	_
29	bring	bring	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
30	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	29	obj	_	_
31	to	to	PART	TO	_	32	mark	_	_
32	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	29	advcl	_	_
33	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	32	ccomp	_	_
34	shall	shall	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	33	aux	_	_
35	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	33	cop	_	_
36	after	after	ADP	IN	_	37	case	_	_
37	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	33	obl	_	_
38	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- sa -->
- form: yes/no question
- act: ask
- voice: character
- polarity: none
- teacher: kept the draft

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **perceive** | past | I |  |  |  |  | wherefore *property* | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **be** | present | nothing |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **rejoice** | should | a man |  |  | other's works |  |  | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **is a** | present | that | other's portion |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **bring** | shall |  |  | other |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument he=Destination |
| 6 | **see** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 7 | **is a** | shall |  |  |  |  | after other |  | tree rules |
| 8 | **work** |  | other |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The Hebrew of this verse {#hebrew}

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וְרָאִ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין טוֹב֙ מֵאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׂמַ֤ח הָאָדָם֙ בְּֽמַעֲשָׂ֔יו כִּי־ה֖וּא חֶלְק֑וֹ כִּ֣י מִ֤י יְבִיאֶ֙נּוּ֙ לִרְא֔וֹת בְּמֶ֖ה שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָֽיו׃

[Ecclesiastes 3:22: the Hebrew tree, its pragmatics and the Targum →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.22/)

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**Source.** The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text, Jewish Publication Society, 1917, from eBible.org: public domain. Sentence `jps:ECC:72` of Mova's parse database.

**The tree and the speech act** come from Mova's cycle: the small model's draft, read by a large model as teacher, passed by Mova's gates (Elamur Cosmic License). **The frames** are read from the tree by Mova's frames reader (`prag`) when this page is built, the chapter read in order, so a pronoun may be resolved from an earlier sentence of the chapter.

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- ← previous: [Ecclesiastes 3:21 (JPS)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.71/)
- next →: [Ecclesiastes 4:1 (JPS)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.73/)
- ↑ back to [Ecclesiastes 3:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.22/)