| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: | 1There is a season for everything, and a time for every event 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 be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; |
| 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 up; |
| 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 stones; 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 searching; a time to keep, and a time to discard; |
| 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 benefit does the worker gain from what he undertakes? |
| 10I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. | 10I have observed the burdens placed by God on human beings in order to perfect them. |
| 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 made everything appropriate in its time. He also placed eternity within them—yet, no person can fully comprehend what God is doing from beginning to end. |
| 12I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, | 12I have concluded that the only worthwhile thing for them is to take pleasure in doing good in life; |
| 13and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. | 13moreover, every person should eat, drink, and enjoy the benefits of everything that he undertakes, since it is a gift from 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 have concluded that everything that God undertakes will last for eternity—nothing can be added to it nor taken away from it—and that God acts this way 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. | 15That which was, now is; and that which will be, already is; and God examines what has already taken place. |
| 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 examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness. |
| 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 told myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event 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.” | 18"As for human beings," I told myself, "God puts them to the test, that they might see themselves as mere 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 what happens to people also happens to animals—a single event happens to them: just as someone dies, so does the other. In fact, they all breathe the same way, so that a human being has no superiority over an animal. All of this is pointless. |
| 20All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. | 20All of them go to one place: all of them originate from dust, and all of them 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 whether the spirit of human beings ascends, and whether the spirit of animals descends 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 concluded that it is worthwhile for people to find joy in their accomplishments, because that is their inheritance, since who can see what will exist after them? |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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