| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1There is a season for everything, and a time for every event under heaven: | 1For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. |
| 2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; | 2A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. |
| 3a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up; | 3A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. |
| 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; | 4A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. |
| 5a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; | 5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. |
| 6a time to search, and a time to give up searching; a time to keep, and a time to discard; | 6A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. |
| 7a time to tear, and a time to mend; a time to be silent, and a time to speak; | 7A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. |
| 8a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. | 8A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. |
| 9What benefit does the worker gain from what he undertakes? | 9What do people really get for all their hard work? |
| 10I have observed the burdens placed by God on human beings in order to perfect them. | 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. |
| 11He made everything appropriate in its time. He also placed eternity within them—yet, no person can fully comprehend what God is doing from beginning to end. | 11Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. |
| 12I have concluded that the only worthwhile thing for them is to take pleasure in doing good in life; | 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. |
| 13moreover, every person should eat, drink, and enjoy the benefits of everything that he undertakes, since it is a gift from God. | 13And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| 14I have concluded that everything that God undertakes will last for eternity—nothing can be added to it nor taken away from it—and that God acts this way so that people will fear him. | 14And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. |
| 15That which was, now is; and that which will be, already is; and God examines what has already taken place. | 15What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. The Injustices of Life |
| 16I also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness. | 16I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! |
| 17I told myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event and every work." | 17I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” |
| 18"As for human beings," I told myself, "God puts them to the test, that they might see themselves as mere animals." | 18I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. |
| 19For what happens to people also happens to animals—a single event happens to them: just as someone dies, so does the other. In fact, they all breathe the same way, so that a human being has no superiority over an animal. All of this is pointless. | 19For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! |
| 20All of them go to one place: all of them originate from dust, and all of them return to dust. | 20Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. |
| 21Who knows whether the spirit of human beings ascends, and whether the spirit of animals descends to the earth? | 21For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? |
| 22I concluded that it is worthwhile for people to find joy in their accomplishments, because that is their inheritance, since who can see what will exist after them? | 22So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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