¹ For, every thing, there is a season,—and a time for every pursuit, under the heavens:—

² A time to be born, and a time to die,—A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted;

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal,—A time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh,—A time to wail, and a time to dance for joy;

⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to heap up stones,—A time to embrace, and a time to be far from loving embrace;

⁶ A time to seek, and a time to give up as lost,—A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew,—A time to be silent, and a time to speak;

⁸ A time to love and a time to hate,—A time of war, and a time of peace.

⁹ What profit hath he that worketh, in that wherein, himself, hath toiled?

¹⁰ I looked at the employment which God hath given to the sons of men, to work therein:

¹¹ Everything, hath he made beautiful in its own time,—also, intelligence, hath he put in their heart, without which men could not find out the work which God hath wrought, from the beginning even unto the end.

¹² I know that there is no blessedness in them,—save to be glad, and to do well with one’s life.

¹³ Though indeed, that any man should eat and drink, and see blessedness, in all his toil, it is, the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know, that, whatsoever God doeth, the same, shall be age-abiding, unto it, there is nothing to add, and, from it, there is nothing to take away,—and, God, hath done it, that men should stand in awe before him.

¹⁵ That which was, already, had been, and, that which shall be, already, shall have been,—but, God, seeketh that which hath been chased away.

¹⁶ Then, again, I saw under the sun, the place of justice, that there was lawlessness, and, the place of righteousness, that there was lawlessness.

¹⁷ Said, I, in my heart, Both the righteous and the lawless, will God judge,—for [there will be] a time for every pursuit, and concerning every work—there.

¹⁸ Said, I, in my heart, as concerning the sons of men, That God was minded to prove them,—and that they might see, that they were beasts, of themselves.

¹⁹ For, as regardeth the destiny of the sons of men and the destiny of beasts, one fate, have they, as dieth the one, so, dieth the other, and, one spirit, have they all,—and, the pre-eminence of man over beast, is nothing, for, all, were vanity:

²⁰ all, go unto one place,—all, came from the dust, and all, return to the dust.

²¹ Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of men, whether it, ascendeth, above,—or the spirit of the beast, whether it, descendeth, below, to the earth?

²² So I saw, that there was nothing better than that a man should be glad in his works, for, that, is his portion,—for who can bring him in, to look upon that which shall be after him?