Ecclesiastes 3
3
1To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. 9What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth? 10I have seen the travail that God#GodHebrew: Elohim hath given to the sons of men to toil in.
11He hath made everything beautiful in its time; also he hath set the world in their heart, so that man findeth not out from the beginning to the end the work that God#GodHebrew: Elohim doeth. 12I know that there is nothing good for them but to rejoice and to do well in their life; 13yea also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, it is the gift of God#GodHebrew: Elohim 14I know that whatever God#GodHebrew: Elohim doeth, it shall be for ever; there is nothing to be added to it, nor anything to be taken from it; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15That which is was long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim bringeth back again that which is past.
16And moreover I saw under the sun, that in the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there. 17I said in my heart, God#GodHebrew: Elohim 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, It is thus with the children of men, that God#GodHebrew: Elohim may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts. 19For what befalleth the children of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other, and they have all one breath; and man hath no pre-eminence above the beast: for all is vanity. 20All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all return to dust. 21Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men? Doth it go upwards? and the spirit of the beasts, doth it go downwards to the earth? 22And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Ecclesiastes 3
3
A Time for Everything
1There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
2There is a time to be born
and a time to die.
There is a time to plant
and a time to pull up plants.
3There is a time to kill
and a time to heal.
There is a time to destroy
and a time to build.
4There is a time to cry
and a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad
and a time to dance with joy.
5There is a time to throw weapons down
and a time to pick them up.#3:5 Literally, “There is a time to throw stones away and a time to gather stones.”
There is a time to hug someone
and a time to stop holding so tightly.
6There is a time to look for something
and a time to consider it lost.
There is a time to keep things
and a time to throw things away.
7There is a time to tear cloth
and a time to sew it.
There is a time to be silent
and a time to speak.
8There is a time to love
and a time to hate.
There is a time for war
and a time for peace.
God Controls His World
9Do people really gain anything from their hard work? 10I saw all the hard work God gave us to do. 11God gave us the ability to think about his world,#3:11 the ability … world Or “a desire to know the future.” but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.
12I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God.
14I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to the work of God, and they cannot take anything away from it. God did this so that people would respect him. 15What happened in the past has happened, and what will happen in the future will happen. But God wants to help those who have been treated badly.#3:15 Or “What happens now also happened in the past. What happens in the future has also happened before. God makes things happen again and again.”
16I also saw these things in this life#3:16 in this life Literally, “under the sun.”: I saw that the courts should be filled with goodness and fairness, but there is evil there now. 17So I said to myself, “God has planned a time for everything, and he has planned a time to judge everything people do. He will judge good people and bad people.”
Are People Like Animals?
18I thought about what people do to each other. And I said to myself, “God wants people to see that they are like animals. 19The same thing happens to animals and to people—they die. People and animals have the same ‘breath.’#3:19 breath Or “spirit.” Is a dead animal different from a dead person? It is all so senseless! 20The bodies of people and animals end the same way. They came from the earth, and, in the end, they will go back to the earth. 21Who knows what happens to a person’s spirit? Who knows if a human’s spirit goes up to God while an animal’s spirit goes down into the ground?”
22So I saw that the best thing people can do is to enjoy what they do, because that is all they have. Besides, no one can help another person see what will happen in the future.
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