Online Bible

Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

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Ecclesiastes 3 NASB - New American Standard BibleEcclesiastes 3 NASB - New American Standard Bible

Chapter 3 of EcclesiastesNew American Standard Bible (NASB)



  1. ¶ There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a 1time for every [a]event under heaven—
  2. ¶ A time to give birth and a 2time to die;
    A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
  3. A 3time to kill and a time to heal;
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
  4. A time to 4weep and a time to 5laugh;
    A time to mourn and a time to 6dance.
  5. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
    A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
  6. A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
  7. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
    A time to 7be silent and a time to speak.
  8. A time to love and a time to 8hate;
    A time for war and a time for peace.
  9. 9What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
  10. I have seen the 10task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
  11. ¶ He has 11made everything [b]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [c]yet so that man 12will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
  12. ¶ I know that there is 13nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;
  13. moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the 14gift of God.
  14. I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should [d]15fear Him.
  15. That 16which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
  16. ¶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is 17wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
  17. I said [e]to myself, “18God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a 19time for every [f]matter and for every deed is there.
  18. I said [g]to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but 20beasts.”
  19. 21For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts [h]is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is [i]vanity.
  20. All go to the same place. All came from the 22dust and all return to the dust.
  21. Who knows that the 23breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?
  22. I have seen that 24nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see 25what will occur after him?


FOOTNOTES

  1. ^ Lit delight
  2. ^ Lit beautiful
  3. ^ Or without which man
  4. ^ Or be in awe before Him
  5. ^ Lit in my heart
  6. ^ Or delight
  7. ^ Lit in my heart
  8. ^ Lit and they have one fate
  9. ^ Or futility

REFERENCES

  1. ^ Ec 3:17; 8:6
  2. ^ Jb 14:5; Heb 9:27
  3. ^ Ge 9:6; 1Sa 2:6; Ho 6:1, 2
  4. ^ Ro 12:15
  5. ^ Ps 126:2
  6. ^ Ex 15:20
  7. ^ Am 5:13
  8. ^ Ps 101:3; Pr 13:5
  9. ^ Ec 1:3; 2:11; 5:16
  10. ^ Ec 1:13; 2:26
  11. ^ Ge 1:31
  12. ^ Jb 5:9; Ec 7:23; 8:17; Ro 11:33
  13. ^ Ec 2:24
  14. ^ Ec 2:24; 5:19
  15. ^ Ec 5:7; 7:18; 8:12, 13; 12:13
  16. ^ Ec 1:9; 6:10
  17. ^ Ec 4:1; 5:8; 8:9
  18. ^ Ge 18:25; Ps 96:13; 98:9; Ec 11:9; Mt 16:27; Ro 2:6-10; 2Th 1:6-9
  19. ^ Ec 3:1; 8:6
  20. ^ Ps 49:12, 20; 73:22
  21. ^ Ps 49:12; Ec 9:12
  22. ^ Ge 3:19; Ps 103:14; Ec 12:7
  23. ^ Ec 12:7
  24. ^ Ec 2:24
  25. ^ Ec 2:18; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14

Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 in other Bible versions:

Comments

  1. David yakubuDavid yakubu
    Oct 29, 2022 08:05 GMT

    When i do read some comments and seeing that its the same people that are supposed to be called believers but are talking ill of other denominations, it hurts. Let us all remember that We should judge not

    1. jonas smithjonas smith
      Apr 23, 2023 02:57 GMT

      The bible tells us to test the spirits. Satan disguises himself as angel of light. So yes some denomination are not teaching the truth. You are responsible for judging which ones are not. You have to judge the truth at all times. this is what the bible teaches

  2. THTH
    Apr 7, 2021 00:20 GMT

    The NWT is a very good translation. Dr. Jason David BeDuhn PhD attests to that in his book Truth in Translation. drive.google.com/...5p16melHzg8/view

    1. jim mcleodjim mcleod
      Aug 22, 2021 06:16 GMT

      NWT is a false translation that takes away from the deity of Jesus !

  3. SlightlyChaoticSlightlyChaotic
    Jan 30, 2021 16:33 GMT

    Thank you for taking the time to provide this service. I like seeing the NASB on your web page in the same format as I read on paper. On other sites, the text area is smaller, and so I have to keep scrolling down to read and sometimes I lose the context. So I really appreciate the format.

    As far as the NWT, you are certainly free to do whatever you think best with your own web pages. I'd suggest that you make a note anytime you have a translation that is associated with only one denomination or church, for example:
    New World Translation (Jehovah's Witness version).

    In Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares. the main idea seems to be that you can't easily distinguish between God's people and not-God's people on this earth, so our Lord's response is to wait until they are shown to be the kind of people they are inside. But the NWT seems like false teaching to me. So I think the warning passages from Jesus' apostles are more applicable, as in 2 Peter 3:15-16, when he talks about Paul's writings:
    "There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures."
    And we also have the positive exhortations, as in 2 Timothy 2:15:
    "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

    1. BroderickBroderick
      Jan 31, 2021 00:57 GMT

      Your suggestion regarding the denominational flagging is duly noted. But I can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t a Catholic also want “Protestant versions” marked as well?

      As for the parable, I’m pretty sure the slaves were convinced in their own minds that they could tell the tares from the wheat. After all, aren’t they the ones who identified the problem in the first place? But the master obviously thought otherwise.

      Furthermore, even at the time when Jesus himself was walking the earth, not everybody who claimed fellowship actually followed him causing John to inquire at Mark 9:39, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him . . . for he who is not against us is for us.”

  4. Joshua HarderJoshua Harder
    Dec 11, 2020 17:48 GMT

    Hello, question.. why have you included the NWT with other legitimate bible translations? Or why have you not atleast included a warning to readers? Don't you fear that someone could be influenced by the Watchtower's intentional heresies? Thank you.

    1. KevinKevin
      Jul 11, 2021 17:45 GMT

      en.m.wikipedia.org/..._Holy_Scriptures

      See the section critical review

  5. julietjuliet
    Aug 17, 2022 09:36 GMT

    the sky is blue

  6. mercymercy
    Aug 12, 2022 21:23 GMT

    i am Mercy, the sky is blue what else do you need

    1. mercymercy
      Aug 12, 2022 21:25 GMT

      i am so sorry, it was a big mistake

  7. God is able to do all thingsGod is able to do all things
    May 17, 2021 17:59 GMT

    Jesus how much love calling yo name

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