There
is a time for everything,
And a
season for every activity 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 scatter stones and a time to gather them,
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 throw away,
7 A
time to tear and a time to mend,
A
time to be 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 toil?
10 I
have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11 He
has made everything beautiful in its time.
HE HAS
ALSO SET ETERNITY IN THE HEARTS OF MEN;
YET
THEY CANNOT FATHOM WHAT GOD HAS DONE
FROM
BEGINNING TO END.
12 I
know that there is nothing better for me than to be happy
And to
do good while they live.
13
That every man may eat and drink,
And
find satisfaction in all his toil--
THIS
IS THE GIFT OF GOD.
14 I
know that everything God does will endure Forever;
Nothing
can be added to it and nothing taken from it.
GOD
DOES IT, SO MEN WILL REVERE HIM.
15
WHAT IS HAS ALREADY BEEN,
AND
WHAT WILL BE HAS BEEN BEFORE;
AND
GOD WILL CALL THE PAST TO ACCOUNT.
16 And
I saw something else under the sun:
IN
PLACE OF JUDGMENT—WICKEDNESS WAS THERE,
IN THE
PLACE OF JUSTICE—WICKEDNESS WAS THERE.
17 I
thought in my heart,
'GOD
WILL BRING TO JUDGMENT
BOTH
THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED,
For
there will be a time for every activity,
A time
for every deed.'
18 I
also thought, 'As for men, God Tests them
So
that they may see that they are like the animals.
19
Man's Fate is like that of the animals;
The
same Fate await them both:
As one
dies, so dies the other.
All
have the same breath;
Man
has No Advantage over the animal.
EVERYTHING
IS MEANINGLESS.
20 All
go to the same place;
ALL
COME FROM DUST, AND TO DUST ALL RETURN.
21 WHO
KNOWS IF THE SPIRIT OF MAN RISES UPWARD
AND IF
THE SPIRIT OF THE ANIMAL GOES DOWN INTO THE EARTH?'
22 So
I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work,
Because
that is his lot.
For
who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
(Ecclesiastes
3)
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