Ecclesiastes 3

1 Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens:

2 A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.

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 of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.

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 of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.

A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.

A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.

A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.

9 So what do you get for all your hard work?

What profit hath he that worketh from that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have examined what God gives us to do.

I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men to toil in.

11 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.

He 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 doeth.

12 I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.

I know that there is nothing good for them but to rejoice and to do well in their life;

13 In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.

yea also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, it is the gift of God.

14 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.

I know that whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever; there is nothing to be added to it, nor anything to be taken from it; and God doeth [it], that [men] should fear before him.

15 Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.

That which is was long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God bringeth back again that which is past.

16 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.

And moreover I saw under the sun, that in the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there.

17 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.”

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.

18 I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”

I said in my heart, It is thus with the children of men, that God may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts.

19 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!

For 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.

20 They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.

All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all return to dust.

21 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?

Who 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?

22 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?

And 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?