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Ecclesiastes 3

CSB

The Mystery of Time

¹There is an occasion for everything,

and a time for every activity under heaven:

²a time to give birth and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to uproot;

³a time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to tear down and a time to build;

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

⁵a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

⁶a time to search and a time to count as lost;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

⁷a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to be silent and a time to speak;

⁸a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his struggles? ¹⁰I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied. ¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end. ¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. ¹³It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. ¹⁴I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him. ¹⁵Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

The Mystery of Injustice and Death

¹⁶I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness. ¹⁷I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.” ¹⁸I 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.” ¹⁹For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. ²⁰All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust. ²¹Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth? ²²I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies? ,