| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: | 1There is an occasion for everything, and 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, | 2a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; |
| 3a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, | 3a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build; |
| 4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, | 4a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; |
| 5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, | 5a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; |
| 6a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, | 6a time to search and a time to count as lost; 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 sew; a time to be silent 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 do workers gain from their toil? | 9What does the worker gain from his struggles? |
| 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. | 10I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied. |
| 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. | 11He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end. |
| 12I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. | 12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. |
| 13That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil--this is the gift of God. | 13It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. |
| 14I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. | 14I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him. |
| 15Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. | 15Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed. |
| 16And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment--wickedness was there, in the place of justice--wickedness was there. | 16I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness. |
| 17I said to myself, "God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed." | 17I said to myself, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work." |
| 18I also said to myself, "As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. | 18I said to myself, "This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals." |
| 19Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. | 19For the fate of people and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. |
| 20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. | 20All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust. |
| 21Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?" | 21Who knows if the spirit of people rises upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth? |
| 22So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them? | 22I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies? |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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