Ecc 3 | NASB2020 | STEP | There is an appointed time for everything . And there is a time for every matter under heaven --

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^atime for every matter under heaven--

2 A time to give birth and a ^btime to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A ^ctime to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to ^dweep and a time to ^elaugh;
A time to mourn and a time to ^fdance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to ^gbe silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to ^hhate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 ⁱWhat benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the ^jtask which God has given the sons of mankind with which to ^{▼▼Or trouble}occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

11 He has ^lmade everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind ^mwill find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

12 I know that there is ⁿnothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor--this is the ^ogift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^{▼▼Or be in awe before Him
,} ^qfear Him. 15 ^rThat which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^{▼▼Or finds}seeks what has passed by.

16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is ^twickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said ^{▼▼Lit in my heart}to myself, “ ^vGod will judge the righteous and the wicked,” for a ^wtime for every matter and for every deed ^{▼▼I.e., exists with God}is there. 18 I said ^{▼▼Lit in my heart}to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as ^zanimals, they to themselves.” 19 ^aaFor the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals ^{▼▼Lit and they have one fate}is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the ^acdust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the ^adspirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that ^aenothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his ^{▼▼Or reward}lot. For who will bring him to see ^agwhat will occur after him?