Ecclesiastes 3

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

For every thing there is a season; and a [proper] time is for every pursuit under the heavens.

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

[There is] a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what hath been 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 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,

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 throw away stones, and a time to gather up stones; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing;

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

A time to seek, and a time to let things be lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw 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 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.

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil?

What profit hath [now] he that worketh in that wherein he toileth?

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

I have seen the employment, which God hath given to the sons of men to busy themselves therewith.

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.

Every thing hath he made beautiful in its [proper] time: he hath also placed the eternity in their heart, without a man's being able to find out the work that God hath made from the beginning to the end.

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

I know that there is nothing good [inherent] in them, but for every one to rejoice and to do what is good during [all] his 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 also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy what is good for all his toil, is likewise a gift of God.

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 know that whatsoever God doth, that will be for ever; to it nothing can be added, and from it there is nothing to be diminished: and God hath so made it, that men should be afraid of him.

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

That which hath been hath long since appeared [again]; and what is to be hath already been; and God seeketh [again] that which is sped 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.

And moreover I have seen under the sun, [that in] the place of justice, even there was wickedness; and [that in] the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

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.”

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every pursuit; and on account of every deed there [will he judge].

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 concerning the speaking of the sons of men, that God might make it clear to them, and that they might see that they by themselves are but beasts.

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 that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even the same thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one kind of spirit: so that the preeminence of man above the beast is nought; for all is vanity.

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

Every thing goeth unto one place: every thing came from the dust, and every thing returneth to the dust.

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

Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that ascendeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that descendeth downward to the earth?

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 so did I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who can bring him to look with pleasure on what will be after him?