1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 10:2
Trivia: According to Ecclesiastes, what should you always have on your head?
3:1-81To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
To everything there is a season (turn, turn turn). [1]
And a time to every purpose under heaven.
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to be born, a time to die.
A time to plant, a time to reap.
3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to kill [2], a time to heal.
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to laugh, a time to weep.
A time mourn, a time to dance [3].
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together.
A time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing.
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to gain, a time to lose
7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to rend, a time to sew. [4]
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
A time for love, a time for hate.
A time for peace. (I swear it's not too late.)
3:9-229 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
Rejoice and do good in this life.
13And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
Eat, drink, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
God makes us fear him. [7]
15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
God makes things happen over and over again.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
God will judge the righteous [8] and the wicked.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Someday God will show us that we are beasts.
19For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Because what happens to beasts happens to us.
Our deaths are just like theirs.
Humans are not above beasts.
20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
We and the beasts die and go to the same place.
All we are is dust in the wind.
21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
Who knows that at death the spirit of humans go up,
and the spirits of beasts go down?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
So the best we can do is to rejoice in our works.
Some nice poetry and a great Byrds song. ("Turn, Turn, Turn" -- written by Pete Seeger)
The lyrics to the Song "Turn! Turn! Turn! were written by Pete Seeger in 1959 and became a hit song by the Byrds in 1965. The lyrics are taken nearly verbatim from Ecclesiastes 3 in the King James Bible. (I have used the song's lyrics to summarize the chapter in the SAB.)
Everything is beautiful in its own way. Parasitic worms, cancer cells, bubonic plague. You just have to look at it from God's eyes.
Science is impossible. We can learn nothing at all about the natural world.
Humans and animals die and their spirits don't survive death.
