Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 3"

Ecclesiastes 3

King James Version KJV

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.

9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Good News Translation GNT

1 Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.

2 He sets the time for birth and the time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up,

3 the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building.

4 He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing,

5 the time for making love and the time for not making love, the time for kissing and the time for not kissing.

6 He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away,

7 the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk.

8 He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace.

9 What do we gain from all our work?

10 I know the heavy burdens that God has laid on us.

11 He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does.

12 So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive.

13 All of us should eat and drink and enjoy what we have worked for. It is God's gift.

14 I know that everything God does will last forever. You can't add anything to it or take anything away from it. And one thing God does is to make us stand in awe of him.

15 Whatever happens or can happen has already happened before. God makes the same thing happen again and again.

16 In addition, I have also noticed that in this world you find wickedness where justice and right ought to be.

17 I told myself, "God is going to judge the righteous and the evil alike, because every thing, every action, will happen at its own set time."

18 I decided that God is testing us, to show us that we are no better than animals.

19 After all, the same fate awaits human beings and animals alike. One dies just like the other. They are the same kind of creature. A human being is no better off than an animal, because life has no meaning for either.

20 They are both going to the same place - the dust. They both came from it; they will both go back to it.

21 How can anyone be sure that the human spirit goes upward while an animal's spirit goes down into the ground?

22 So I realized then that the best thing we can do is enjoy what we have worked for. There is nothing else we can do. There is no way for us to know what will happen after we die.