Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 3"

Ecclesiastes 3

English Standard Version ESV

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3 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 dance;

5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; 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;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil?

10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;

13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.

19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.

20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.

21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be 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?