1 ARST There is a right time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world. BSB BSB: To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 ARST There is the right time for any certain person to be born, and there is the right time for him to die. There is the right time to plant crops, and there is the right time to harvest crops. BSB BSB: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 ARST There is the right time to kill people, and there is the right time to heal people. There is the right time to tear things down, and there is the right time to build things. BSB BSB: a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,
4 ARST There is the right time to cry, and there is the right time to laugh. There is the right time to mourn, and there is the right time to dance joyfully. BSB BSB: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 ARST There is the right time to throw away stones from a field, and there is the right time to gather stones to build walls. There is the right time to embrace people, and there is the right time to keep from embracing them. BSB BSB: a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 ARST There is the right time to search for things, and there is the right time to stop searching for things. There is the right time to keep things, and there is the right time to throw things away. BSB BSB: a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,
7 ARST There is the right time to tear our clothes because we are grieving, and there is the right time to mend our clothes. There is the right time to say nothing, and there is the right time for speaking. BSB BSB: a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 ARST There is the right time when we should love things that people do, and there is the right time when we should hate things that people do. There is the right time for war, and there is the right time for peace. BSB BSB: a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 ARST What do people gain from all the work that they do? BSB BSB: What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 ARST I have seen the work that God has given people to do. BSB BSB: I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.
11 ARST God has fixed a time that is right for everything to happen. He has also caused people to realize that there are things that will last forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them. BSB BSB: He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
12 ARST I know that the best thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things during the time that we are alive. BSB BSB: I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
13 ARST And I also know that everyone should enjoy what they eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are gifts that God gives to us. BSB BSB: and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
14 ARST I also know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that he does. God does those things in order that people will honor him. BSB BSB: I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.
15 ARST Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes us to want to understand mysteries. BSB BSB: What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
16 ARST Furthermore, I saw that on this earth, even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked things. BSB BSB: Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
17 ARST So I said to myself,“God will judge both righteous people and wicked people. There is certainly a time for him to do that because there is a time for him to do everything.” BSB BSB: I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”
18 ARST And regarding humans, I also said to myself,“God is testing us, to show us that in one way people are no different than animals.” BSB BSB: I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.”
19 ARST What happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe to remain alive. People have no advantage over animals in that way. Everything disappears so quickly. BSB BSB: For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.
20 ARST People and animals all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and when we die, our corpses become soil again. BSB BSB: All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
21 ARST No one knows for sure that when we die, our souls go up to heaven and the souls of animals go down to the place where the dead are.” BSB BSB: Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
22 ARST So I think that the best thing for us people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say this because no one of us knows what happens to us after we die. BSB BSB: I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.