Ecclesiastes 3

New King James Version

Everything Has Its Time

3 To everything there is a season,
A ^(A)time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time ^[a]to be born,
And ^(B)a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what 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 ^(C)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;
^(D)A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
⁷A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
^(E)A time to keep silence,
And a time to ^(F)speak;
⁸A time to love,
And a time to ^(G)hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

The God-Given Task

⁹^(H)What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰^(I)I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that ^(J)no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹²I know that nothing is ^(K)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³and also that ^(L)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
^(M)Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵^(N)That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God ^[b]requires an account of ^[c]what is past.

Injustice Seems to Prevail

¹⁶Moreover ^(O)I saw under the sun:

In the place of ^[d]judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
^[e]Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

^(P)“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every ^[f]purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹^(Q)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: ^(R)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹^(S)Who^[g] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ²²^(T)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for ^(U)that is his ^[h]heritage. ^(V)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:2 Lit. to bear
Ecclesiastes 3:15 Lit. seeks
Ecclesiastes 3:15 what is pursued
Ecclesiastes 3:16 justice
Ecclesiastes 3:16 Wickedness
Ecclesiastes 3:17 desire
Ecclesiastes 3:21 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Who knows whether the spirit . . . goes upward, and whether . . . goes downward to the earth?
Ecclesiastes 3:22 portion or lot

1 John 2:7-17

New King James Version

⁷^[a]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(A)from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ^[b]from the beginning. ⁸Again, ^(B)a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, ^(C)because the darkness is passing away, and ^(D)the true light is already shining.

⁹^(E)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰^(F)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^(G)there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who ^(H)hates his brother is in darkness and ^(I)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

¹²I write to you, little children,
Because ^(J)your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
¹³I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is ^(K)from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have ^(L)known the Father.
¹⁴I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because ^(M)you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵^(N)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(O)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, ^(P)the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And ^(Q)the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

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Footnotes

1 John 2:7 NU Beloved
1 John 2:7 NU omits from the beginning

Ecclesiastes 4

New King James Version

The Uselessness of Selfish Toil

4 Then I returned and considered all the ^(A)oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
^[a]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
²^(B)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
³^(C)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

⁵^(D)The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
⁶^(E)Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸There is one alone, without ^[b]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his ^(F)eye satisfied with riches.
But ^(G)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of ^(H)good?”
This also is vanity and a ^[c]grave misfortune.

The Value of a Friend

⁹Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
¹¹Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
¹²Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Popularity Passes Away

¹³Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
¹⁴For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although ^[d]he was born poor in his kingdom.
¹⁵I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
¹⁶There was no end of all the people ^[e]over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 4:1 Lit. At the hand
Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task
Ecclesiastes 4:14 The youth
Ecclesiastes 4:16 Lit. to all before whom he was to be

1 John 2:18-29

New King James Version

Deceptions of the Last Hour

¹⁸^(A)Little children, ^(B)it is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^(C)the^[a] Antichrist is coming, ^(D)even now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^(E)that it is the last hour. ¹⁹^(F)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(G)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^(H)that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰But ^(I)you have an anointing ^(J)from the Holy One, and ^(K)you^[b] know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²²^(L)Who is a liar but he who denies that ^(M)Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³^(N)Whoever denies the Son does not have the ^(O)Father either; ^(P)he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴Therefore let that abide in you ^(Q)which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^(R)you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵^(S)And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[c]deceive you. ²⁷But the ^(T)anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and ^(U)you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing ^(V)teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ^[d]will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[e]when He appears, we may have ^(W)confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹^(X)If you know that He is righteous, you know that ^(Y)everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.