Ecclesiastes 3
1 Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,
4 A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
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 of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,
7 A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 So what do you get for all your hard work?
What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 I have examined what God gives us to do.
I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.
11 Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end.
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 concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
13 In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
14 I also concluded that everything God does lasts forever: nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts in this way so that people may stand in awe of 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 was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
16 I also observed that here on earth there was evil even in the place where there was supposed to be justice; even where things were meant to be right, there was evil.
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 But then I thought to myself, “Ultimately God will judge both those who do right and those who do wrong, and every deed and action, at the appointed time.”
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 also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
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 For what happens to human beings is the same as what happens to animals—in the same way one dies, the other dies too. They all have the breath of life—so regarding any advantage human beings have over animals, there is none. Definitely this is very hard to understand!
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 They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
21 Who really knows whether the breath of life of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below 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 concluded that there's nothing better than for people to enjoy their work. This is what we are meant to do. For who can bring anyone back from the dead to show them what will happen after they die?
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?
