1 T o everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:

2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.

3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

A time to slay, 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;

A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.

6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

A time to seek, And a time to destroy. 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;

A time to rend, 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 of war, And a time of peace. The God-Given Task

A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.

9 W hat profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

11 H e has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.

12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

13 a nd also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

yea, even every man who eateth and hath drunk and seen good by all his labour, it a gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him.

15 T hat which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past. Injustice Seems to Prevail

What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.

16 M oreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.

And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment -- there the wicked; and the place of righteousness -- there the wicked.

17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

I said in my heart, `The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time to every matter and for every work there.'

18 I 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.”

I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves beasts.

19 F or 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.

For an event the sons of man, and an event the beasts, even one event to them; as the death of this, so the death of that; and one spirit to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole vanity.

20 A ll go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

The whole are going unto one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back unto the dust.

21 W ho knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?

22 S o I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?