Ecclesiastes
Chapter 3
1 Everything has its time, and there is a moment for every purpose under heaven.
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pull up what is planted.
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to grieve, and a time to dance;
5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to collect stones; a time to hug, and a time to avoid hugging.
6 A time to gain, and a time to give up; a time to save, and a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear, and a time to mend; a time to be quiet, and a time to talk;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What does a person gain from their work?
10 I have seen the hard work that God has given to people to do.
11 God has made everything beautiful in its time. He also placed the world in their hearts, yet no one can fully understand what God does from start to finish.
12 I understand that there is no real benefit for people except to be happy and do good during their lives.
13 Everyone should eat, drink, and enjoy the results of their work—this is a gift from God.
14 I know that whatever God does will last forever. You can’t add or take away from it. And God does it so people will respect Him.
15 What has happened is happening now; and what will happen has already happened; and God asks for what has occurred.
16 I also saw under the sun the place of judgment, where there was evil, and the place of righteousness, where there was wrong.
17 I thought to myself, God will judge the good and the bad, because there is a right time for every plan and action.
18 I thought to myself about people’s lives, that God tests them so they can see that they are like animals.
19 What happens to people happens to animals too. They all have the same fate: as one dies, so does the other. They all have the same spirit. People have no advantage over animals, for everything is meaningless.
20 Everyone goes to the same place; everyone comes from dust, and everyone will turn to dust again.
21 Who knows if the human spirit rises up and the animal spirit goes down into the earth?
22 So I see that there is nothing better than for a person to be happy with their own work; that is their reward. Who can show them what will happen after they are gone?