Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

⁷ Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.

⁸ Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil.

⁹ Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

accepted (v.7) = approved of

works (v.7) — the joyful eating and drinking just mentioned, not meritorious works

The philosophy and the declaration of verses 7-10 are: That recognizing the fact of death, and accepting it as the extinction of existence, the wisest life is one of enjoyment if God has given the means for enjoyment; and that so long as strength is enjoyed and active life is commendable. The declaration is: yet is that life of enjoyment and activity only vanity and empty toil. — Williams, page 446.

We are to savor the joys of life and not allow ourselves to get mired down in its vexatious problems. As responsible beings, we are to make ourselves enjoy the little gifts of God. … Keep your garments white and anoint your head with fragrant spiced oil, counsels the preacher. These are symbols of festivity and joy. A man ought to get himself a wife and bask in the sunshine of her love. A man must love that wife all the days of his life and prize her as one of God’s choicest gifts. … Men … should enter upon the tasks of the hour with great verve. Whatever the task, man must see it as a gift from the Lord and enter into its challenge with an awareness that He will hold us accountable for what we do with His provisions. — KJV Commentary, page 750.

It is interesting that Solomon spoke of a loving, lifelong relationship with one’s wife as a blessing from God when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Some believe that the 1,000 women in Ecclesiastes 7:26-28 refer to his wives and concubines which, if true, would imply that he never found his true love among any of them. — Grace, page 1178.

which He has given you (v.9) — referring to days, not wife

might (v.10) — Whatever you do, do it the best that you can.

grave (v.10) — Sheol. The place of the dead.