Ecclesiastes 3
The full text of Ecclesiastes 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter 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 tear down and a time to build up,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to seek and a time to lose,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What gain has the worker
from their toil?
10 I have seen the task
that God has given to human beings
to be occupied with.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also, he has set eternity in their hearts—
yet no one can fathom
what God has done
from beginning to end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them
than to rejoice and to do good
during their lives.
13 Also, that everyone should eat and drink
and find enjoyment in all their toil—
this is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does
endures forever;
nothing can be added to it,
nor anything taken from it.
God has done this
so that people will stand in awe before him.
15 What is has already been,
and what will be has been before.
God seeks out what has been driven away.
16 And I saw something more under the sun:
in the place of justice, there was wickedness,
and in the place of righteousness, there was wickedness.
17 I said to myself,
'God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
for there is a time for every matter
and for every deed.'
18 I said to myself
concerning human beings:
God is testing them
to show them that they are,
in themselves, like animals.
19 For the fate of human beings
and the fate of animals is the same:
as one dies, so dies the other.
Both have the same breath.
Humans have no advantage over animals,
for all is fleeting.
20 All go to one place:
all come from dust,
and to dust all return.
21 Who knows whether the breath of humans
rises upward,
and the breath of animals
descends downward to the earth?
22 So I saw that there is nothing better
than that people should enjoy their work,
for that is their lot.
For who can bring them to see
what will happen after them?
Translation notes (8)
- Ecclesiastes 3:5a The scattering and gathering of stones in this verse may refer to clearing or ruining fields, building, or possibly a sexual euphemism, as suggested in the Talmud.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11a The Hebrew word olam can mean 'eternity,' 'the world,' or 'obscurity/hidden knowledge.' This ambiguity is likely intentional.
- Ecclesiastes 3:14a The Hebrew phrase yir'u millepanav literally means 'fear from before him,' referring to awe or reverence before God's sovereign acts.
- Ecclesiastes 3:15a The Hebrew word nirdaf means 'that which is pursued/persecuted.' Its exact meaning here is debated, but it might suggest that God retrieves what time sweeps away.
- Ecclesiastes 3:17a This can also be translated as 'there.' Some early manuscripts read sham ('there') to refer to an expected divine judgment rather than 'time'.
- Ecclesiastes 3:18a The Hebrew in this verse is difficult to translate. It literally says, 'God tests them and to see that they are animals, they to themselves.'
- Ecclesiastes 3:19a Heb. ruah, 'breath/wind/spirit' — the shared life-breath of all creatures; cf. Gen 2:7.
- Ecclesiastes 3:21a The Masoretic pointing, which are the vowel markings in the standard Hebrew text, makes this a statement ('the spirit of humans that goes up...'), but the context strongly suggests it should be understood as a question.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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