Ecclesiastes 3

1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

All things have their time, and all things under heaven continue during their interval.

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to be born, and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pull up what was planted.

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,

A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to tear 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,

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,

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 search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,

A time to gain, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away.

7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

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 for war and a time for peace.

A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil?

What more does a man have from his labor?

10 I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.

I have seen the affliction that God has given to the sons of men, in order that they may be occupied by it.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

He has made all things good in their time, and he has handed over the world to their disputes, so that man may not discover the work which God made from the beginning, even until the end.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

And I realize that there is nothing better than to rejoice, and to do well in this life.

13 and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

For this is a gift from God: when each man eats and drinks, and sees the good results of his labor.

14 I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

I have learned that all the works which God has made continue on, in perpetuity. We are not able to add anything, nor to take anything away, from those things which God has made in order that he may be feared.

15 What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.

What has been made, the same continues. What is in the future, has already existed. And God restores what has passed away.

16 Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

I saw under the sun: instead of judgment, impiety, and instead of justice, iniquity.

17 I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”

And I said in my heart: “God will judge the just and the impious, and then the time for each matter shall be.”

18 I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.”

I said in my heart, about the sons of men, that God would test them, and reveal them to be like wild animals.

19 For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.

For this reason, the passing away of man and of beasts is one, and the condition of both is equal. For as a man dies, so also do they die. All things breathe similarly, and man has nothing more than beast; for all these are subject to vanity.

20 All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

And all things continue on to one place; for from the earth they were made, and unto the earth they shall return together.

21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?

Who knows if the spirit of the sons of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?

22 I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

And I have discovered nothing to be better than for a man to rejoice in his work: for this is his portion. And who shall add to him, so that he may know the things that will occur after him?