Ecclesiastes 3

1 For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun.

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

2 A time for birth and a time for death; a time for planting and a time for uprooting;

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

3 A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up;

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

4 A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing;

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing;

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 for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away;

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

7 A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk;

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

8 A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What profit has the worker in the work which he does?

What does the worker gain from his toil?

10 I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

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

11 He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

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.

12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

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

13 And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

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

14 I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

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.

15 Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.

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

16 And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.

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

17 I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

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

18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

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.”

19 Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.

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.

20 All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again.

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

21 Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth?

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

22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work — because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

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?