| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- | 1For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. |
| 2A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun 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 as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. | 6A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. |
| 7A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 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 profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? | 9What do people really get for all their hard work? |
| 10I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. | 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. |
| 11He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the 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 know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; | 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. |
| 13moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor-- it is the gift of God. | 13And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| 14I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should 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 is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by. | 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 |
| 16Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. | 16I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! |
| 17I said to myself, "God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for every deed is there. | 17I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” |
| 18I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts." | 18I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. |
| 19For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. | 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 go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. | 20Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. |
| 21Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? | 21For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? |
| 22I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him? | 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. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | 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. |
|
    |