| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: | 1There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: |
| 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 be born 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 scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from 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 give up, 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 mend, 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 do workers gain from their toil? |
| 10I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. | 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 people than to be happy and to do good while they live. |
| 13and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. | 13That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil--this is the gift of God. |
| 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 endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear 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 what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. |
| 16Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. | 16And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment--wickedness was there, in the place of justice--wickedness was there. |
| 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 bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed." |
| 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 also said to myself, "As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the 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. | 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. |
| 20All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. | 20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. |
| 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 human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into 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? | 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? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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. |
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