Ecclesiastes 3

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¹For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun.

²A time for birth and a time for death; a time for planting and a time for uprooting;

³A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up;

⁴A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing;

⁵A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing;

⁶A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away;

⁷A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk;

⁸A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What profit has the worker in the work which he does?

¹⁰I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

¹¹He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

¹²I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

¹³And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

¹⁴I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

¹⁵Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.

¹⁶And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

¹⁸I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

¹⁹Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.

²⁰All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again.

²¹Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth?

²²So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

Ecclesiastes 3

¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

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 tear, 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 for war, and a time for peace.

⁹What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?

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 labor, 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: and God seeks again that which is passed away.

¹⁶Moreover 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?"

²²Therefore 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?