1 T o everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:

There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under heaven.

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

There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pick what is planted.

3 A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.

There is 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 skip.

There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance.

5 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.

There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing.

6 A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.

There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away.

7 A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.

There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak.

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

There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. The God-Given Work

9 W hat advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

What does the worker get for his work?

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

I have seen the work which God has given the sons of men to do.

11 T he 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.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put thoughts of the forever in man’s mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end.

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

I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and to do good as long as they live.

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

And I know that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his work. It is the gift of God.

14 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.

I know that everything God does will last forever. There is nothing to add to it, and nothing to take from it. God works so that men will honor Him with fear.

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

That which is, already has been. And that which will be, has already been. For God allows the same things to happen again. Sin Is Everywhere

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

Also I have seen under the sun that in the place of what is right and fair there is sin. And in the place of what is right and good there is wrong-doing.

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

I said to myself, “God will judge both the man who is right and good, and the sinful man.” For there is a time for everything to be done and a time for every work.

18 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.

I said to myself about the sons of men, “God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.”

19 F or 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.

For the same thing is to happen to both the sons of men and animals. As one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and to be a man is no better than to be an animal. Because all is for nothing.

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

All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

21 W ho 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?

Who knows that the spirit of man goes up and the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth?

22 A nd 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?

So I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his work, for that is all he can do. Who can bring him to see what will happen after him?