Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 3"

Ecclesiastes 3

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 For everything there is a season, a right time for every intention under heaven

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to discard,

7 a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep 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 from his efforts?

10 I have seen the task God has given humanity to keep us occupied.

11 He has made everything suited to its time; also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity; but in such a way that they can't fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does.

12 I know that there is nothing better for them to do than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live.

13 Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work, is a gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does will last forever; there is nothing to add or subtract from it; and God has done it so that people will fear him.

15 That which was is here already; and that which will be has already been, but God seeks out what people chase after.

16 Another thing I observed under the sun: There, in the same place as justice, was wickedness; there, in the same place as righteousness, was wickedness.

17 I said to myself, "The righteous and the wicked God will judge, because there is a right time for every intention and for every action."

18 Concerning people, I said to myself, "God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are just animals.

19 After all, the same things that happen to people happen to animals, the very same thing - just as the one dies, so does the other. Yes, their breath is the same; so that humans are no better than animals; since nothing matters, anyway.

20 They all go to the same place; they all come from dust, and they all return to dust.

21 Who knows if the spirit of a human being goes upward and the spirit of an animal goes downward into the earth?"

22 So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person to do than take joy in his activities, that that is his allotted portion; for who can enable him to see what will happen after him?

The Message Bible MSG

1 There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2 A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap,

3 A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct,

4 A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer,

5 A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part,

6 A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go,

7 A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

8 A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

9 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does?

10 I've had a good look at what God has given us to do - busywork, mostly.

11 True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time - but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going.

12 I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life.

13 That's it - eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.

14 I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

15 Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That's how it always is with God.

16 I took another good look at what's going on: The very place of judgment - corrupt!

17 The place of righteousness - corrupt! I said to myself, "God will judge righteous and wicked." There's a right time for every thing, every deed - and there's no getting around it.

18 I said to myself regarding the human race, "God's testing the lot of us, showing us up as nothing but animals."

19 Humans and animals come to the same end - humans die, animals die. We all breathe the same air. So there's really no advantage in being human. None. Everything's smoke.

20 We all end up in the same place - we all came from dust, we all end up as dust.

21 Nobody knows for sure that the human spirit rises to heaven or that the animal spirit sinks into the earth.

22 So I made up my mind that there's nothing better for us men and women than to have a good time in whatever we do - that's our lot. Who knows if there's anything else to life?