Ecclesiastes 3
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
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 of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
9 What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
So what do you get for all your hard work?
10 I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
I have examined what God gives us to do.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can't find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end.
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.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live.
I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
13 Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
14 I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him.
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.
15 That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago: and God seeks again that which is passed away.
Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
16 Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
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.
17 I said in my heart, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work."
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.”
18 I said in my heart, "As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
19 For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity.
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!
20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.
They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
21 Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?"
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?
22 Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?
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?
