Ecclesiastes 3:12-22 ▼

12 I have concluded that the only worthwhile thing for them is to take pleasure in doing good in life;

13 moreover, every person should eat, drink, and enjoy the benefits of everything that he undertakes, since it is a gift from God.

14 I 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.

15 That which was, now is; and that which will be, already is; and God examines what has already taken place.

16 I 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.

17 I told myself, |God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event and every work.|

18 |As for human beings,| I told myself, |God puts them to the test, that they might see themselves as mere animals.|

19 For 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.

20 All of them go to one place: all of them originate from dust, and all of them return to dust.

21 Who knows whether the spirit of human beings ascends, and whether the spirit of animals descends to the earth?

22 I 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?