Ecclesiastes 3
1 Omnia tempus habent, et suis spatiis transeunt universa sub caelo.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 Tempus nascendi, et tempus moriendi. Tempus plantandi, et tempus evellendi quod plantatum est.
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 Tempus occidendi, et tempus sanandi: Tempus destruendi, et tempus aedificandi.
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,
4 Tempus flendi, et tempus ridendi. Tempus plangendi, et tempus saltandi.
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 Tempus spargendi lapides, et tempus colligendi. Tempus amplexandi, et tempus longe fieri ab amplexibus.
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 Tempus acquirendi, et tempus perdendi. Tempus custodiendi, et tempus abiiciendi.
a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,
7 Tempus scindendi, et tempus consuendi. Tempus tacendi, et tempus loquendi.
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 Tempus dilectionis, et tempus odii. Tempus belli, et tempus pacis.
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 Quid habet amplius homo de labore suo?
What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 Vidi afflictionem, quam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut distendantur in ea.
I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.
11 Cuncta fecit bona in tempore suo, et mundum tradidit disputationi eorum, ut non inveniat homo opus, quod operatus est Deus ab initio usque ad finem.
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 Et cognovi quod non esset melius nisi laetari, et facere bene in vita sua.
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
13 Omnis enim homo, qui comedit et bibit, et videt bonum de labore suo, hoc donum Dei est.
and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
14 Didici quod omnia opera, quae fecit Deus, perseverent in perpetuum: non possumus eis quidquam addere, nec auferre, quae fecit Deus ut timeatur.
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 Quod factum est, ipsum permanet: quae futura sunt, iam fuerunt: et Deus instaurat quod abiit.
What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
16 Vidi sub sole in loco iudicii impietatem, et in loco iustitiae iniquitatem.
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 Et dixi in corde meo: Iustum, et impium iudicabit Deus, et tempus omnis rei tunc erit.
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 Dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum, ut probaret eos Deus, et ostenderet similes esse bestiis.
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 Idcirco unus interitus est hominis, et iumentorum, et aequa utriusque conditio: sicut moritur homo, sic et illa moriuntur: similiter spirant omnia, et nihil habet homo iumento amplius: cuncta subiacent vanitati,
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 et omnia pergunt ad unum locum: de terra facta sunt, et in terram pariter revertuntur.
All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
21 Quis novit si spiritus filiorum Adam ascendat sursum, et si spiritus iumentorum descendat deorsum?
Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
22 Et deprehendi nihil esse melius quam laetari hominem in opere suo, et hanc esse partem illius. Quis enim eum adducet, ut post se futura cognoscat?
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?
