1 To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:
2 A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.
3 A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break 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 skip.
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.
6 A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.
7 A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.
8 A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.
9 What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?
10 I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
11 The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.
12 I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,
13 yea, even every man who eateth and hath drunk and seen good by all his labour, it `is' a gift of God.
14 I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him.
15 What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which `is' to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.
16 And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment -- there `is' the wicked; and the place of righteousness -- there `is' the wicked.
17 I said in my heart, `The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time `is' to every matter and for every work there.'
18 I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves `are' beasts.
19 For an event `is to' the sons of man, and an event `is to' the beasts, even one event `is' to them; as the death of this, so `is' the death of that; and one spirit `is' to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole `is' vanity.
20 The whole are going unto one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back unto the dust.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?
22 And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it `is' his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
Solomon having shown the vanity of studies, pleasures, and business, and made it to appear that happiness is not to be found in the schools of the learned, nor in the gardens of Epicurus, nor upon the exchange, he proceeds, in this chapter, further to prove his doctrine, and the inference he had drawn from it, That therefore we should cheerfully content ourselves with, and make use of, what God has given us, by showing,
Ecc 3:1-10
The scope of these verses is to show,
Ecc 3:11-15
We have seen what changes there are in the world, and must not expect to find the world more sure to us than it has been to others. Now here Solomon shows the hand of God in all those changes; it is he that has made every creature to be that to us which it is, and therefore we must have our eye always upon him.
Ecc 3:16-22
Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without piety and the fear of God, is vanity. Take away religion, and there is nothing valuable among men, nothing for the sake of which a wise man would think it worth while to live in this world. In these verses he shows that power (than which there is nothing men are more ambitious of) and life itself (than which there is nothing men are more fond, more jealous of) are nothing without the fear of God.