Ecclesiastes 3
3
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
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;
3 a time to kill,
and a time to heal;
a time to break down,
and a time to build up;
4 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 gather stones together;
a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek,
and a time to lose;
a time to keep,
and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear,
and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
8 a time to love,
and a time to hate;
a time for war,
and a time for peace.
9 What profit has he who works in that in which he labours? 10I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 11He 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. 12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live. 13Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, is the gift of God. 14I 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. 15That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago. God seeks again that which is passed away.
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. 17I 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.” 18I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. 19For 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. 20All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward 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?
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Ecclesiastes 3
3
1Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:#3:1. This is the Teachers observation, not his instruction. For this reason the verb participle is used, rather than the infinitive, since the infinitive might suggest that this is what should happen, e.g. “a time of killing” (i.e. when it happens) rather than “a time to kill” (when it ought to happen).
2A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
3A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
4A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
5A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones.#3:5. This mention of stones and its meaning is debated. Jewish tradition indicates it is a euphemism for making love. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
6A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
7A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
8A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
9So what do you get for all your hard work? 10I have examined what God gives us to do. 11Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity#3:11. “Eternity”: the word used here has the meaning of ages past and ages future, “continuation to the most distant time.” in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end. 12I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life. 13In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
14I 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. 15Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.#3:15. Literally, “God seeks what has been chased away.” This phrase has been variously interpreted, but perhaps the best in the context is that time is open to God—things forgotten by human beings (“chased away”) are still accessible to him and are what he examines (“seeks”).
16I 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. 17But 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.”
18I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”#3:18. This thought is in reaction to the realization that wickedness takes the place of justice, mentioned in 3:16. 19For 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!#3:19. In addition, since this follows a discussion of “breath” (that can also be translated “spirit”), this can be linked to the continued theme of “transience” and “difficult to understand” which as mentioned before comes from the word for vapor or breath. 20They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust. 21Who really knows whether the breath of life#3:21. “Breath of life”: or “spirit.” of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below to the earth? 22So 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?
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com