Ecclesiastes 3
1 Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
For everything there is an appointed time, and a season for every purpose under heaven.
2 A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pull up plants,
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 tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
There is 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 throw away stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace other people, 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.
There is a time to look for things and a time to stop looking, a time to keep things and a time to throw away things,
7 A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
a time to tear clothing and a time to repair clothing, a time to keep 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.
There is 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 profit does the worker gain in his labor?
10 I have examined what God gives us to do.
I have seen the work that God has given to human beings to complete.
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.
God has made everything suitable for its own time. He has also placed eternity in their hearts. But mankind cannot understand the deeds that God has done, from their beginning all the way to their 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 anyone than to rejoice and to do good so long as he lives—
13 In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
and that everyone should eat and drink, and should understand how to enjoy the good that comes from all his work. This is a gift from 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 whatever God does lasts forever. Nothing can be added to it or taken away, because it is God who has done it so that people will approach him with honor.
15 Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
Whatever exists has already existed; whatever will exist has already existed. God makes human beings seek hidden things.
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.
I have seen the wickedness that is under the sun, where there should be justice, and in place of righteousness, wickedness was there.
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 at the right time for every matter 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 in my heart, “God tests human beings to show them that they are like animals.”
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 fate of the children of mankind and the fate of animals is the same fate for them. The death of one is like the death of the other. The breath is the same for all of them. There is no advantage for mankind over the animals. For is not everything just a breath?
20 They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
Everything is going to the same place. Everything comes from the dust, and everything returns to the 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 whether the spirit of mankind goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward 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?
So again I realized that there is nothing better for anyone than to take pleasure in his work, for that is his assignment. Who can bring him back to see what happens after him?
