3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
3 There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
2 There is a time to be born
and a time to die.
There is a time to plant
and a time to pull up plants.
3 There is a time to kill
and a time to heal.
There is a time to destroy
and a time to build.
4 There is a time to cry
and a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad
and a time to dance with joy.
5 There is a time to throw weapons down
and a time to pick them up. [ a ]
There is a time to hug someone
and a time to stop holding so tightly.
6 There is a time to look for something
and a time to consider it lost.
There is a time to keep things
and a time to throw things away.
7 There is a time to tear cloth
and a time to sew it.
There is a time to be silent
and a time to speak.
8 There is a time to love
and a time to hate.
There is a time for war
and a time for peace.
9 Do people really gain anything from their hard work? 10 I saw all the hard work God gave us to do. 11 God gave us the ability to think about his world, [ b ] but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.
12 I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God.
14 I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to the work of God, and they cannot take anything away from it. God did this so that people would respect him. 15 What happened in the past has happened, and what will happen in the future will happen. But God wants to help those who have been treated badly. [ c ]
16 I also saw these things in this life [ d ] : I saw that the courts should be filled with goodness and fairness, but there is evil there now. 17 So I said to myself, “God has planned a time for everything, and he has planned a time to judge everything people do. He will judge good people and bad people.”
18 I thought about what people do to each other. And I said to myself, “God wants people to see that they are like animals. 19 The same thing happens to animals and to people—they die. People and animals have the same ‘breath.’ [ e ] Is a dead animal different from a dead person? It is all so senseless! 20 The bodies of people and animals end the same way. They came from the earth, and, in the end, they will go back to the earth. 21 Who knows what happens to a person’s spirit? Who knows if a human’s spirit goes up to God while an animal’s spirit goes down into the ground?”
22 So I saw that the best thing people can do is to enjoy what they do, because that is all they have. Besides, no one can help another person see what will happen in the future.
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every [ a ] purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth? 10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. 11 He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set [ b ] eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and [ c ] to do good so long as they live. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him. 15 [ d ] That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is [ e ] passed away. 16 And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every [ f ] purpose and for every work. 18 [ g ] I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one [ h ] breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit [ i ] of man, [ j ] whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him?
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 a time to be born,
and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill,
and a time to heal;
a time to break down,
and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep,
and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,
and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones,
and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek,
and a time to lose;
a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear,
and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
8 a time to love,
and a time to hate;
a time for war,
and a time for peace.
9 What profit has he who works in that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live. 13 Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. 14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him. 15 That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago. God seeks again that which is passed away.
16 Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. 17 I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” 18 I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. 19 For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
22 Therefore I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?
3 To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:
2 A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.
3 A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.
6 A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.
7 A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.
8 A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.
9 What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?
10 I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
11 The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.
12 I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,
13 yea, even every man who eateth and hath drunk and seen good by all his labour, it [is] a gift of God.
14 I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him.
15 What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which [is] to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.
16 And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment -- there [is] the wicked; and the place of righteousness -- there [is] the wicked.
17 I said in my heart, `The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time [is] to every matter and for every work there.'
18 I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] beasts.
19 For an event [is to] the sons of man, and an event [is to] the beasts, even one event [is] to them; as the death of this, so [is] the death of that; and one spirit [is] to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole [is] vanity.
20 The whole are going unto one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back unto the dust.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?
22 And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it [is] his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?
3 All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build.
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
6 A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away.
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
8 A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What hath man more of his labour?
10 I have seen the trouble, which God hath given the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made all things good in their time, and hath delivered the world to their consideration, so that man cannot find out the work which God hath made from the beginning to the end.
12 And I have known that there was no better thing than to rejoice, and to do well in this life.
13 For every man that eateth and drinketh, and seeth good of his labour, this is the gift of God.
14 I have learned that all the works which God hath made, continue for ever: we cannot add any thing, nor take away from those things which God hath made that he may be feared.
15 That which hath been made, the same continueth: the things that shall be, have already been: and God restoreth that which is past.
16 I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in the place of justice iniquity.
17 And I said in my heart: God shall judge both the just and the wicked, and then shall be the time of every thing.
18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts.
19 Therefore the death of man, and of beasts is one, and the condition of them both is equal: as man dieth, so they also die: all things breathe alike, and man hath nothing more than beast: all things are subject to vanity.
20 And all things go to one place: of earth they were made, and into earth they return together.
21 Who knoweth if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?
22 And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice in his work, and that this is his portion. For who shall bring him to know the things that shall be after him?
