Ecclesiastes 3

1 To everything—a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:

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

2 A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.

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

3 A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.

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

4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

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 heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from 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 to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.

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

7 A time to tear, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.

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

8 A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.

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

9 What advantage does the doer have in that which he is laboring at?

What does the worker gain from his toil?

10 I have seen the travail that God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

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

11 The whole He has made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He has put in their heart without which man does not find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the 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 have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

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

13 indeed, even every man who eats and has drunk and seen good by all his labor, it [is] a gift of 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 have known that all that God does is for all time, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God has worked that they 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 What is that which has been? Already it is, and that which [is] to be has already been, and God requires that which is pursued.

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 have seen under the sun the place of judgment—there [is] the wicked; and the place of righteousness—there [is] the wicked.

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, “The righteous and the wicked God judges, for a time [is] to every matter and for every work there.”

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 concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] 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 For an event [is to] the sons of man, and an event [is to] the beasts, even one event [is] to them; as the death of this, so [is] the death of that; and one spirit [is] to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole [is] vanity.

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 The whole are going to one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back to the dust.

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

21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going 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 And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it [is] his portion; for who brings him to look on that which is 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?