Ecclesiastes 3:1-17
Modern English Version
A Time for Everything
3 To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to gain, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
The God-Given Task
9 What benefit does the worker have in his toil? 10 I have seen the task that God has given to sons of men to be concerned with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its appropriate time. He has also put obscurity in their hearts[a] so that no one comes to know the work that God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I experienced that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and do good in their life. 13 And also that everyone should eat and drink and experience good in all their labor. This is a gift of God. 14 I have perceived that everything that God has done will be lasting. And to this there is nothing to be added, and from it there is nothing to be taken away. And God has done this so that in His presence men fear Him.
15 That which is has already been,
and what is to come has also already been;
and God seeks out what has been driven away.
The Vanity of Injustice
16 Moreover I saw what was under the sun:
In the place of justice, there was wickedness;
and in the place of righteousness, there was wickedness.
17 I thought in my heart:
God will bring judgment
to the righteous and the wicked,
for there is an appropriate time
for every matter and deed.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or timelessness, or perpetuity.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-17
Lexham English Bible
God Has Ordained the Ebb and Flow of Human Activities
3 For everything there is an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to bear[a] and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to root up what is planted;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek and a time to lose;
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;
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain in his toil?
No One Understands God’s Mysterious Plan
10 I have seen the busyness God gives to humans[b] to preoccupy[c] them. 11 He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put the past[d] in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end. 12 So I realized that there is nothing better[e] for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves[f] during their lives. 13 And for anyone to eat and drink, that is, to enjoy the fruit of all his toil,[g] this also is a gift of God.
14 I know everything God does endures forever;
nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it,
for God so acts that humans[h] might stand in awe before him.
15 What is—it already was,
and what will be—it already is,
for God will do what he has done.[i]
God’s Mysterious Plan Allows Injustice to Exist in the World
16 I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice there was evil; instead of righteousness there was wickedness. 17 So I said to myself,[j] “God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed[k] a time of judgment for every deed and every work.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:2 Or “a time to be born”; MT reads the active form “to bear children”
- Ecclesiastes 3:10 Literally “the sons of the man”
- Ecclesiastes 3:10 Or “to be busy”
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 Literally “eternity”
- Ecclesiastes 3:12 Literally “no good”
- Ecclesiastes 3:12 Literally “to rejoice and to do good”
- Ecclesiastes 3:13 Literally “to see good in all his toil”
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 Or “they”
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 Literally “God seeks what is pursued”
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 Literally “in my heart”
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 The MT reads שָׁם “there,” but repointing to שָׂם, “he has appointed,” makes better sense
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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