| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: | 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 pluck what is planted; | 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 break 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; |
| 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 cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; 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 gain, And a time to lose; 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 sew; A time to keep silence, 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 of war, And a time of peace. | 8a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. |
| 9What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? | 9What does the worker gain from his struggles? |
| 10I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. | 10I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied. |
| 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. | 11He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end. |
| 12I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, | 12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. |
| 13and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. | 13It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. |
| 14I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. | 14I know that everything 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. |
| 15That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past. | 15Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted. |
| 16Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity 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 in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” | 17I said to myself, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work." |
| 18I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” | 18I said to myself, "This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals." |
| 19For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. | 19For the fate of the children of Adam 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 one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. | 20All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust. |
| 21Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? | 21Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth? |
| 22So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? | 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? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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