A Time for Every Season: God’s Sovereignty and Human Limits
Ecclesiastes 3:1-22
Ecc.3.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לכל: PREP
- זמן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- חפץ: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תחת: PREP
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Genesis 1:14 (verbal): Uses the same idea of God appointing 'seasons' (moedim) and times for heavenly signs and cycles — divine ordering of times.
- Psalm 104:19 (thematic): Speaks of God appointing the moon for seasons, echoing the theme that celestial order establishes appointed times under heaven.
- Acts 1:7 (verbal): Jesus tells the disciples that it is the Father's prerogative to set 'times and seasons,' echoing Ecclesiastes' emphasis on God‑ordained times.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 (allusion): Paul speaks of 'times and seasons' regarding eschatological expectation, reflecting the biblical category of appointed times.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: God's making 'everything beautiful in its time' develops the book's central conviction that there is an appointed time for all things.
Alternative generated candidates
- For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens.
- To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens.
Ecc.3.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ללדת: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- למות: VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לטעת: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לעקור: VERB,qal,inf
- נטוע: PART,qal,ptcp,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:10 (verbal): God commissions Jeremiah 'to pluck up and to break down... to build and to plant'—language of planting and uprooting directly echoes Ecclesiastes' 'a time to plant and a time to uproot.'
- Job 14:1-2 (thematic): Speaks of human life as transient—'born of a woman, few of days... comes forth like a flower and withers'—paralleling the 'time to be born and a time to die' theme.
- Genesis 8:22 (thematic): God's promise that 'seedtime and harvest... shall not cease' reflects the idea of appointed seasons and times for human and agricultural activity, as in Ecclesiastes' seasons-of-life motif.
- Psalm 90:12 (thematic): 'Teach us to number our days' emphasizes human mortality and the need to reckon with life's limited time, resonating with Ecclesiastes' juxtaposition of birth/death and planting/uprooting.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
- A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
Ecc.3.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- להרוג: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לרפוא: VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לפרוץ: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (structural): The immediate poetic context: a catalogue of opposing ‘times’ (e.g., a time to kill/a time to heal; to break down/to build up), showing the unitary structure and theme of appointed times.
- Genesis 8:22 (thematic): Speaks of recurring seasonal order ('seedtime and harvest, cold and heat'), echoing the theme of divinely ordered cycles and appropriate times for actions.
- Daniel 2:21 (thematic): Affirms that God 'changes times and seasons' and controls the rise and fall of rulers—paralleling the idea that there are appointed times for different human affairs.
- Psalm 31:15 (Heb. 31:15) (thematic): 'My times are in your hand' connects to the motif that human events and seasons fall under divine sovereignty and appointed timing.
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 (verbal): Within Ecclesiastes itself: 'For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,' reiterating the notion that each action has its fitting time.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.
- A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.
Ecc.3.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לבכות: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לשחוק: VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ספוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רקוד: VERB,qal,inf,NA,NA,NA,NA
Parallels
- Psalm 30:11 (verbal): Speaks of God turning mourning into dancing—directly echoes the contrast between weeping/mourning and laughing/dancing in Ecclesiastes 3:4.
- Psalm 126:5-6 (thematic): Contrasts sowing in tears with reaping with shouts of joy; thematically parallels the movement from sorrow to rejoicing found in Eccl. 3:4.
- Jeremiah 31:13 (verbal): Promises turning mourning into joy and giving gladness for sorrow—uses the same reversal motif as Ecclesiastes 3:4.
- Isaiah 61:3 (verbal): Speaks of giving 'beauty for ashes' and 'the oil of joy for mourning,' echoing the exchange of mourning for dancing/joy in Eccl. 3:4.
- Luke 6:21 (thematic): Jesus says, 'Blessed are you who weep, for you will laugh,' a New Testament reflection on the reversal from weeping to laughter found in Ecclesiastes 3:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
- A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.
Ecc.3.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- להשליך: VERB,qal,inf
- אבנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כנוס: VERB,qal,inf
- אבנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לחבוק: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לרחק: VERB,qal,inf
- מחבק: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,m,sg
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (structural): Opens the poem 'For everything there is a season,' which frames v.5; establishes the litany of "a time to..." that v.5 participates in.
- Ecclesiastes 3:8 (structural): Another pair of opposites in the same list ('a time to love, and a time to hate')—shows the pattern of contrasting actions like 'to embrace' and 'to refrain from embracing.'
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (thematic): Declares that God has made everything beautiful in its time, echoing the poem's concern with appointed seasons and the proper timing of actions such as gathering or casting stones and embracing.
- Daniel 2:21 (thematic): Attributes the changing of times and seasons to God ('He changes times and seasons'), paralleling Ecclesiastes' focus on appointed times for human actions.
- Acts 1:7 (thematic): Jesus states that the Father has set 'times and seasons' and they are not for humans to know or set—echoes the theme that timing belongs to divine authority rather than human choice.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
- A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
Ecc.3.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לבקש: PREP+VERB,qal,infc
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לאבד: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לשמור: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להשליך: PREP+VERB,hiph,inf
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (structural): The verse is part of the larger 'a time/season' poem; 3:1 frames the whole set of paired opposites (a time for everything).
- 2 Timothy 4:2 (verbal): Paul urges proclamation 'in season and out of season,' echoing the language and idea of appointed times/seasons found in Eccles. 3.1–8.
- Matthew 10:39 (thematic): Jesus' paradox 'whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it' echoes the paired motif of finding and losing in Eccles.3:6.
- Matthew 7:7 (verbal): 'Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find' parallels the seek/find polarity in Eccles.3:6 (a time to seek).
- Luke 14:33 (thematic): Jesus' demand to renounce possessions ('give up all that you have') resonates with the keep/cast away polarity (a time to keep and a time to throw away) in Eccles.3:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away.
- A time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away.
Ecc.3.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לקרוע: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לתפור: VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לחשות: VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לדבר: INF,qal
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (structural): The broader poem of 'a time for everything' of which 3:7 is a line; the pairs of opposites (tear/sew, silence/speak) occur within this structural unit.
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 (thematic): Echoes the motif that there is a proper time and purpose for actions and judgment, reinforcing the book’s theme of appointed times.
- James 1:19 (verbal): James' admonition to be 'quick to hear, slow to speak' parallels the Ecclesiastes contrast between times for silence and for speaking.
- Proverbs 17:27-28 (thematic): Proverbs emphasizes restraint of speech and the wisdom of silence (and how silence can make one seem wise), resonating with 'a time to be silent and a time to speak.'
- Proverbs 15:23 (thematic): Speaks of the value of a word 'in due season,' paralleling the Ecclesiastes idea that there is an appropriate time to speak.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
- A time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak.
Ecc.3.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לאהב: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לשנא: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- מלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Matthew 5:43-44 (thematic): Contrasts commands to love versus hate by urging love for enemies, echoing the polarity 'a time to love and a time to hate.'
- Romans 12:17-21 (thematic): Addresses responses to wrongdoing and the pursuit of peace rather than revenge—paralleling 'a time of war and a time of peace' and the ethical tension between hostility and reconciliation.
- Isaiah 2:4 (allusion): Vision of an end to war—'they shall beat their swords into plowshares'—provides an eschatological counterpart to the motif 'a time for war and a time for peace.'
- Proverbs 10:12 (verbal): Direct verbal contrast: 'Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses,' reflecting the paired opposites 'love' and 'hate' in Ecclesiastes.
- James 3:17-18 (thematic): Presents 'peaceable' wisdom and the fruit of righteousness sown in peace, resonating with the theme that seasons exist for conflict and for peace.
Alternative generated candidates
- A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
- A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecc.3.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- יתרון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העושה: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg,def
- באשר: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 (verbal): A near-identical rhetorical question about the profit or advantage of human labor—repeats Qoheleth's central concern about the value of toil.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (verbal): Explicitly asks what a person gains from all their work and concludes that toil produces anxiety and no lasting profit—same thematic complaint about labor's futility.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16 (thematic): Describes a man who toils but takes nothing from his labor when he dies, reinforcing Qoheleth's point that work yields little ultimate benefit.
- Psalm 127:2 (thematic): Suggests that human labor is vain without the LORD's blessing—parallels Qoheleth's questioning of the ultimate value of toil, attributing meaning (or lack thereof) to divine favor.
- Proverbs 14:23 (thematic): Affirms that toil can bring profit but contrasts with Qoheleth by asserting a positive outcome to diligent work—useful as a counterpoint to the question of 'advantage' in Eccl 3:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- What profit has the worker from his toil?
- What profit has the worker from his toil?
Ecc.3.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הענין: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לבני: PREP
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לענות: VERB,qal,inf
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 2:15 (thematic): God assigns work to humankind—man placed in the garden 'to work it and keep it,' paralleling the idea of a divinely given task.
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 (verbal): Same speaker reflects on examining 'the business' or affairs under heaven—similar language and concern with the task God gives to humans.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (thematic): Affirms God's sovereign ordering—'made everything beautiful in its time' and setting eternity in the human heart, connected to God's provision and purpose for human activity.
- Colossians 3:23-24 (allusion): Transforms the Old Testament idea of earthly tasks into a New Testament ethic: work as service rendered to the Lord, echoing the notion of a God-given assignment.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13 (structural): The book’s conclusion states the 'whole duty of man' given by God—summarizes and interprets what the divinely appointed task or responsibility consists of.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have seen the work that God has given to human beings to be occupied with.
- I have seen the task that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with.
Ecc.3.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- את: PRT,acc
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יפה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- בעתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- גם: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- העלם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בלבם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,pl
- מבלי: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- המעשה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- סוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (structural): Immediate context: 3:1–8 sets the theme of 'a time for everything'; 3:11 echoes and summarizes that God orders times and makes all beautiful in its season.
- Isaiah 46:9-10 (allusion): God declares the end from the beginning and accomplishes his purposes—parallels the idea of divine sovereignty over time and human inability to comprehend God's whole work.
- Proverbs 25:2 (verbal): 'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter' corresponds to Eccles.3:11's claim that humans cannot find out the work God does, highlighting divine hiddenness and inscrutability.
- Job 38:4 (thematic): God's challenge to Job ('Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?') underscores human limitations in understanding God's acts from beginning to end, echoing Eccles.3:11.
- Romans 11:33 (allusion): Paul's doxology on the 'unsearchable' judgments and 'ways past finding out' of God directly echoes the theme of Eccles.3:11 that God's works transcend human comprehension.
Alternative generated candidates
- He has made everything beautiful in its time; moreover he has put an awareness of eternity in their hearts, yet so that they cannot find out the work that God has done from beginning to end.
- He has made everything beautiful in its time; moreover he has set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecc.3.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- לשמוח: VERB,qal,inf
- ולעשות: CONJ+VERB,qal,inf
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בחייו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,ms
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:13 (verbal): Reiterates the same idea: that men should eat, drink and enjoy the good of their labor—this enjoyment is presented as a gift from God, closely echoing 3:12's 'to be glad and do good in his life.'
- Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (thematic): States that nothing is better than to eat, drink and find enjoyment in one's work—links the good of life and enjoyment with God's gift, a central theme shared with 3:12.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15 (thematic): Solomon's summary judgment: commendation of enjoyment because there is nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink and be glad—a parallel endorsement of life’s simple joys as good.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (thematic): Speaks of rejoicing in one's labor and receiving enjoyment as God's gift, emphasizing contentment and doing good during life—resonates with 3:12's call to rejoice and do good.
- Psalm 118:24 (allusion): ‘This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it’—a liturgical call to rejoice that parallels Ecclesiastes' affirmation of gladness and doing good in life.
Alternative generated candidates
- I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives.
- I know that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and to do good in their lives.
Ecc.3.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וגם: CONJ
- כל: DET
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שיאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ושתה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- וראה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- מתת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 (verbal): Expresses the same proposition that eating, drinking, and enjoying one's work is a gift from God; nearly identical language and theological point within the same book.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (thematic): Develops the theme that a person should enjoy the fruits of their labor as a divine gift, contrasting human striving with God's bestowal of enjoyment.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 (thematic): Urges eating, drinking, and rejoicing with one’s household while alive—echoes the call to enjoy life and God’s provision amid life's brevity.
- Psalm 104:14-15 (thematic): Attributes food, wine, and sustenance to God’s provision so that humans may 'bring forth food' and 'gladden the heart,' paralleling the idea that enjoyment of labor is God’s gift.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 (allusion): Paul instructs the wealthy to trust the 'living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy,' echoing the Old Testament conviction that enjoyment of God’s gifts is divinely granted.
Alternative generated candidates
- And also that every person who eats and drinks and sees good in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
- And also that every person who eats and drinks and sees good in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
Ecc.3.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- להוסיף: VERB,hif,inf
- וממנו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- לגרע: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- והאלהים: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שיראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- מלפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same passage: God 'puts eternity' into human hearts and works in a way beyond human comprehension, setting up 3:14's claim that God's works endure and are complete.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (thematic): Affirms the perfection and righteousness of God's work ('His work is perfect'), resonating with the idea that what God does is complete and needs neither addition nor subtraction.
- Psalm 111:7-8 (thematic): Speaks of the works of God's hands as faithful and established forever, echoing Ecclesiastes' claim that whatever God does endures eternally.
- Revelation 22:18-19 (verbal): Uses the closely related language about adding to or taking away from what God has ordained, paralleling Ecclesiastes' statement that nothing may be added or taken from God's work.
- Romans 11:36 (allusion): Emphasizes that all things are from, through, and to God, reflecting the theological thrust that God's actions are sovereign, self-sufficient, and enduring.
Alternative generated candidates
- I know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God has made it so that people should stand in awe before him.
- I know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it; and God has done it, that men should stand in awe before him.
Ecc.3.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- שהיה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- להיות: VERB,qal,inf,NA,NA,NA
- כבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- והאלהים: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- יבקש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- נרדף: PART,niphal,ptcp,ms,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (verbal): Uses the same claim about repetition — “there is nothing new under the sun” — paralleling 3:15’s assertion that what has been will be done again.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (thematic): Both verses treat the cyclicality of time and human affairs (‘to everything there is a season’), framing events as recurrent rather than novel.
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 (thematic): Affirms God’s enduring action and the permanence of what he does, connecting to 3:15’s implication about God’s relation to past and future deeds.
- Isaiah 46:9-10 (allusion): God’s declaration of declaring the end from the beginning resonates with 3:15’s theme that what has been is what will be and with the idea that God knows/seeks what has gone before.
Alternative generated candidates
- What has been already is, and what is to be has already been; and God seeks what has gone by.
- What is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God seeks what has been pursued.
Ecc.3.16 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ועוד: CONJ
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- תחת: PREP
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המשפט: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שמה: ADV
- הרשע: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומקום: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הצדק: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שמה: ADV
- הרשע: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Proverbs 17:15 (verbal): Speaks of justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous—directly parallels the reversal of justice noted in Ecclesiastes (wicked in the place of judgment, wickedness where righteousness should be).
- Micah 3:9-11 (thematic): Denounces leaders and judges who pervert justice, take bribes, and establish evil in places of judgment—echoes the complaint that seats of judgment and righteousness are occupied by wickedness.
- Isaiah 5:20-23 (thematic): Condemns moral inversion and corrupt officials who pervert justice (calling evil good, condemning the innocent), reflecting the same theme of righteousness displaced by wickedness.
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): The psalmist observes the prosperity and apparent impunity of the wicked and struggles with injustice—a poetic meditation on the same problem of wickedness prevailing under the sun.
Alternative generated candidates
- Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there was wickedness.
- Moreover I saw under the heavens the place of judgment—there was wickedness; and in the place of justice, there was wickedness.
Ecc.3.17 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- בלבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- את: PRT,acc
- הצדיק: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הרשע: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ישפט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- לכל: PREP
- חפץ: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- המעשה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (verbal): Uses the same language/theme — 'a time for every purpose' (season for every activity), which frames the declaration about God's judgment in 3:17.
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 (structural): Immediate literary context: the observation of injustice and perverted judgment under the sun prompts the reflection that God will judge the righteous and the wicked (3:17).
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 (verbal): Reiterates the doctrine that God will bring every deed into judgment — a later summation of the book's teaching about divine accounting for actions.
- Psalm 96:13 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD coming to judge the earth with righteousness and faithfulness, paralleling the theme of God's righteous judgment of the world.
- Romans 2:6-8 (thematic): New Testament parallel: God 'will render to each one according to his deeds,' rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked — echoes Ecclesiastes' claim about divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every purpose and for every deed.
- I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every purpose and for every work.
Ecc.3.18 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- בלבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- על: PREP
- דברת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לברם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ולראות: CONJ+VERB,qal,inf
- שהם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- בהמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 (verbal): Immediate continuation repeating and developing the same idea: humans and animals share mortality and God’s scrutiny; questions whether the spirit returns to God or if humans differ from beasts.
- Psalm 49:12-13,20 (thematic): Speaks of mortals in their pride being like beasts that perish; emphasizes human mortality and folly despite earthly status, echoing Qoheleth’s comparison.
- Genesis 3:19 (thematic): Declares human mortality ('for you are dust'), highlighting the common fate of humans and animals after the Fall—parallel concern with human frailty and end.
- Psalm 8:5-6 (structural): Presents a contrasting theological perspective: though made 'a little lower than the angels' and given dominion over creatures, humans’ relation to beasts remains a key theme in discussions of human dignity versus animality.
- Isaiah 40:6-7 (allusion): 'All flesh is grass' motif stressing transience of human life echoes Ecclesiastes’ reflection on mortality that likens humans to animals in their perishable condition.
Alternative generated candidates
- I said in my heart concerning the estate of human beings, that God might test them and that they might see themselves as beasts.
- I said in my heart concerning the children of men, that God may test them, to show that they are but beasts.
Ecc.3.19 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מקרה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומקרה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבהמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ומקרה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כמות: ADV
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- כן: ADV
- מות: VERB,qal,infabs
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- ורוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- לכל: PREP
- ומותר: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מן: PREP
- הבהמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אין: PART,neg
- כי: CONJ
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- הבל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 49:12 (verbal): Explicitly compares human beings to beasts that perish, stating that man in his honor does not endure—echoes Ecclesiastes’ claim that humans share the same fate as animals.
- Ecclesiastes 3:20 (structural): Immediate parallel within Qoheleth: reiterates the shared end of humans and animals—'all go to one place' and 'turn to dust' reinforces the same theme of common mortality.
- Genesis 3:19 (thematic): God’s declaration that humans will 'return to the ground' (you are dust) expresses human mortality and finite life, thematically matching Ecclesiastes’ focus on death as the common lot.
- Hebrews 9:27 (allusion): New Testament statement that 'it is appointed unto men once to die' echoes the existential certainty of death voiced in Ecclesiastes, affirming death as the common appointment for humans.
Alternative generated candidates
- For what happens to human beings happens to beasts; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; for all is vanity.
- For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same: as one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath, and man has no preeminence over the beast; for all is vanity.
Ecc.3.20 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- הולך: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- העפר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והכל: CONJ+PRON,m,sg,abs
- שב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- העפר: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 3:19 (verbal): Explicitly states humanity’s origin and destiny in dust—'for you are dust, and to dust you shall return'—direct verbal parallel to Ecclesiastes' 'all came from the dust and all return to the dust.'
- Genesis 2:7 (allusion): Describes God forming Adam from the dust of the ground, providing the Genesis background for Ecclesiastes' claim that 'all were from the dust.'
- Job 34:15 (verbal): Declares 'All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust,' closely echoing the motif of universal return to dust found in Eccl. 3:20.
- Psalm 90:3 (verbal): Speaks of God returning man to dust—'You return man to dust'—reinforcing the theme of human mortality and return to the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7 (structural): Within the same book, the final verse states 'and the dust returns to the earth as it was,' structurally echoing and developing the theme of dust/origin and return introduced in 3:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- All go to one place; all came from the dust, and all return to the dust.
- All go to one place; all came from the dust, and all return to the dust again.
Ecc.3.21 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יודע: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- העלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,def
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- למעלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ורוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבהמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הירדת: VERB,qal,part,3,f,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- למטה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Eccl.3.19-20 (structural): Immediate context comparing humans and animals who all return to the same place, which leads directly into the question about the destiny of their spirits.
- Eccl.12.7 (allusion): Later in the same book the dust returns to the earth and the spirit returns to God—an explicit resolution or corollary to the uncertainty raised in 3:21.
- Job 34:14-15 (thematic): Affirms that if God were to withdraw spirit/breath all flesh would perish, connecting divine control over spirit with the fate of living creatures.
- Psalm 104:29-30 (verbal): Speaks of God taking away breath so creatures die and return to dust, and of God sending forth his Spirit to renew life—paralleling the upward/downward movement of spirit.
- Gen.2:7 (thematic): The creation account where God breathes life into man (breath/spirit) provides the theological background for questions about the origin and destination of human spirit.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who knows whether the spirit of human beings goes upward and the spirit of beasts goes downward to the earth?
- Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?
Ecc.3.22 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וראיתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מאשר: PREP+REL
- ישמח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- במעשיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- חלקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יביאנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,sg
- לראות: VERB,qal,inf
- במה: PREP+PRON,interr
- שיהיה: CONJ+VERB,qal,yiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחריו: PREP,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 (verbal): Closely articulates the same verdict: nothing is better than to be glad and do good in one's life and to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor as a gift.
- Ecclesiastes 2:24–26 (thematic): Affirms enjoyment of one’s work and portion as proper and as a gift from God, linking human labor, enjoyment, and the limits of human control.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 (thematic): Develops the same teaching that enjoying one’s wealth and the results of one’s toil is right and a divine gift—echoes 'portion' and enjoyment language.
- Psalm 39:4–7 (thematic): Voices human inability to know the future or one’s end (“make me know my end”), paralleling the question who can show what will come after a person.
Alternative generated candidates
- So I saw that there is nothing better than that a person should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion; for who can bring him to see what will be after him?
- Therefore I perceived that there is nothing better than that a person should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion. For who will bring him to see what will be after him?
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
What profit has the one who works from his toil?
I have seen the task that God has given the children of man to be occupied with.
He has made everything beautiful in its time; moreover he has put a sense of eternity in their hearts, yet man cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives. And also that every person who eats and drinks and sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor taken from it. God has done this so that men should stand in awe before him.
What has been is already; and what will be has already been; and God seeks what has gone by.
Moreover I saw under the sun a place of judgment, and wickedness was there; and in the place of justice, wickedness was there.
I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every purpose and for every work.
I said in my heart concerning the children of mankind: God tests them so that they may see that they themselves are like beasts.
For the fate of humans and the fate of beasts is the same: as one dies so dies the other; they all have one breath, and man has no advantage over the beast. All is vanity.
All go to one place; all were from the dust, and all return to the dust.
Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a person should rejoice in his work, for that is his portion; who can bring him to see what will be after him?