| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: | 1For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. |
| 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; | 2A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. |
| 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 cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. |
| 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; 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 turn away. |
| 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; | 6A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. |
| 7A time to rend, 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 quiet 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 hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? | 9What do people really get for all their hard work? |
| 10I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. | 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. |
| 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. | 11Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. |
| 12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. | 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. |
| 13And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. | 13And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
| 14I 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. | 14And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. |
| 15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. | 15What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. The Injustices of Life |
| 16And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. | 16I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! |
| 17I 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. | 17I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” |
| 18I 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. | 18I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. |
| 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. | 19For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! |
| 20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. | 20Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. |
| 21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? | 21For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? |
| 22Wherefore 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? | 22So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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