Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 267
2:21–3:15
E cclesiastes
255
Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave
the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is
meaningless, a great tragedy. So what do people get in this life for all their
hard work and anxiety? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief;
even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and
to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from
the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God
gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner
becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who
please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden
God has placed on us all. Yet 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. So I
concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves
as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of
their labor, for these are gifts from God.
And 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. What is
