Ecclesiastes 3
1 There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
Ein jegliches hat seine Zeit, und alles Vornehmen unter dem Himmel hat seine Stunde.
2 There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant [seeds], and there is a time to harvest crops.
Geboren werden, Sterben, Pflanzen, Ausrotten, das gepflanzt ist,
3 There is a time to kill [people], and there is a time to heal [people]. There is a time to tear things down, and there is a time to build things.
Würgen, Heilen, Brechen, Bauen,
4 There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance [joyfully].
Weinen, Lachen, Klagen, Tanzen,
5 There is a time to throw away stones [from a field], and there is a time to gather stones [to build walls/houses]. There is a time to embrace [people], and there is a time to not embrace [people].
Steine zerstreuen, Steine sammeln, Herzen, Fernen von Herzen,
6 There is a time to search for things, and there is a time to stop searching for things. There is a time to keep/save things, and there is a time to throw things away.
Suchen, Verlieren, Behalten, Wegwerfen,
7 There is a time to tear [our old clothes], and there is a time to mend [clothes]. There is a time to say nothing, and there is a time when we should speak.
Zerreißen, Zunähen, Schweigen, Reden,
8 There is a time when we should love [things that people do], and there is a time when we should hate [things that people do]. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.
Lieben, Hassen, Streit, Friede hat seine Zeit.
9 (What do people gain from all the work that they do?/It seems that people gain very little from all the work that they do [RHQ]).
Man arbeite, wie man will, so kann man nicht mehr ausrichten.
10 I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
Daher sah ich die Mühe, die Gott den Menschen gegeben hat, daß sie drinnen geplagt werden.
11 God has appointed a time that is right/correct for everything to happen. He has [also] caused people to realize that there are things that will endure forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them.
Er aber tut alles fein zu seiner Zeit und läßt ihr Herz sich ängsten, wie es gehen solle in der Welt; denn der Mensch kann doch nicht treffen das Werk, das Gott tut, weder Anfang noch Ende.
12 I know that the best [LIT] thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things [all] during the time that we are alive.
Darum merkte ich, daß nichts Besseres drinnen ist, denn fröhlich sein und ihm gütlich tun in seinem Leben.
13 And I also know that everyone should eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are things that God gives to us.
Denn eine jeglicher Mensch, der da isset und trinkt und hat guten Mut in all seiner Arbeit, das ist eine Gabe Gottes.
14 I [also] know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that God does. God does those things in order that people would revere him.
Ich merkte, daß alles, was Gott tut, das bestehet immer; man kann nichts dazutun noch abtun; und solches tut Gott, daß man sich vor ihm fürchten soll.
15 Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes the same things to happen many times.
Was Gott tut, das stehet da; und was er tun will, das muß werden; denn er trachtet und jagt ihm nach.
16 Furthermore, I saw that on this earth [MTY], even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked [DOU] things.
Weiter sah ich unter der Sonne Stätte des Gerichts, da war ein gottlos Wesen, und Stätte der Gerechtigkeit, da waren Gottlose.
17 [So] I said to myself [SYN], “God will judge [both] righteous [people] and wicked [people]; there is a time [for him to do that], because there is a time for him to do everything.”
Da dachte ich in meinem Herzen: Gott muß richten den Gerechten und Gottlosen; denn es hat alles Vornehmen seine Zeit und alle Werke.
18 And regarding humans, I [also] said to myself, “God is testing us, to show us that [in one way] people are no different than animals,
Ich sprach in meinem Herzen von dem Wesen der Menschen, darin Gott anzeigt und läßt es ansehen, als wären sie unter sich selbst wie das Vieh.
19 because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe [to remain alive]. [With regard to that], people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.
Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh: wie dies stirbt, so stirbt er auch, und haben alle einerlei Odem; und der Mensch hat nichts mehr denn das Vieh; denn es ist alles eitel.
20 [People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.
Es fähret alles an einen Ort; es ist alles von Staub gemacht und wird wieder zu Staub.
21 No one knows [RHQ] for sure that when we die, our souls/spirits go up to heaven and the souls/spirits of animals go down to the place where the dead are.”
Wer weiß, ob der Odem der Menschen aufwärts fahre und der Odem des Viehes unterwärts unter die Erde fahre?
22 So I concluded that the best thing for [us] people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say that because no one of us [RHQ] knows what happens to us after we die.
Darum sah ich, daß nichts Besseres ist, denn daß ein Mensch fröhlich sei in seiner Arbeit; denn das ist sein Teil. Denn wer will ihn dahin bringen, daß er sehe was nach ihm geschehen wird?
