Ecclesiastes 3
Christian Standard Bible
The Mystery of Time
3 There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:(A)
2 a time to give birth and a time to die;(B)
a time to plant and a time to uproot;[a]
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to tear down and a time to build;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;(C)
a time to mourn and a time to dance;(D)
5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;(E)
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;(F)
6 a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to be silent and a time to speak;(G)
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.(H)
9 What does the worker gain from his struggles?(I) 10 I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied.(J) 11 He has made everything appropriate[b] in its time.(K) He has also put eternity in their hearts,[c] but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.(L) 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the[d] good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.(M) 14 I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it.(N) God works so that people will be in awe of him.(O) 15 Whatever is, has already been,(P) and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.[e]
The Mystery of Injustice and Death
16 I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.(Q) 17 I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked,(R) since there is a time for every activity and every work.”(S) 18 I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”(T) 19 For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same.(U) As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.(V) 21 Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities(W) because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?[f](X)
Ecclesiastes 3
Common English Bible
A season for everything
3 There’s a season for everything
and a time for every matter under the heavens:
2 a time for giving birth and a time for dying,
a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,
3 a time for killing and a time for healing,
a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
4 a time for crying and a time for laughing,
a time for mourning and a time for dancing,
5 a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
6 a time for searching and a time for losing,
a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
7 a time for tearing and a time for repairing,
a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
8 a time for loving and a time for hating,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Hard work
9 What do workers gain from all their hard work? 10 I have observed the task that God has given human beings. 11 God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end.
12 I know that there’s nothing better for them but to enjoy themselves and do what’s good while they live. 13 Moreover, this is the gift of God: that all people should eat, drink, and enjoy the results of their hard work. 14 I know that whatever God does will last forever; it’s impossible to add to it or take away from it. God has done this so that people are reverent before him.[a] 15 Whatever happens has already happened, and whatever will happen has already happened before. And God looks after what is driven away.[b]
Enjoy what you do now
16 I saw something else under the sun: in the place of justice, there was wickedness; and in the place of what was right, there was wickedness again! 17 I thought to myself, God will judge both righteous and wicked people, because there’s a time for every matter and every deed. 18 I also thought, Where human beings are concerned, God tests them to show them that they are but animals 19 because human beings and animals share the same fate. One dies just like the other—both have the same life-breath. Humans are no better off than animals because everything is pointless.
20 All go to the same place:
all are from the dust;
all return to the dust.
21 Who knows if a human being’s life-breath rises upward while an animal’s life-breath descends into the earth? 22 So I perceived that there was nothing better for human beings but to enjoy what they do because that’s what they’re allotted in life. Who, really, is able to see what will happen in the future?
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 Or to inspire awe before the divine
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 Or God seeks out what is pursued, or God seeks what has gone by, or God seeks the pursued; Heb uncertain
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