Ecclesiastes 3

Amplified Bible

A Time for Everything

3 There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—

⁹ What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

¹¹ He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good as long as they live; ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].^{(D) 15} That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].

¹⁶ Moreover, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷ I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked,” for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and for every deed. ¹⁸ I said to myself regarding the sons of men, “God is surely testing them in order for them to see that [by themselves, without God] they are [only] animals.” ¹⁹ For the [earthly] fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no preeminence or advantage for man [in and of himself] over an animal, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows if the spirit of man ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? ²² So I have seen that there is nothing better than that a man should be happy in his own works and activities, for that is his portion (share). For who will bring him [back] to see what will happen after he is gone?