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Text -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-21 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
A Time for All Events in Life
3:1 For everything there is an appointed time , and an appropriate time for every activity on earth :
3:2 A time to be born , and a time to die ; a time to plant , and a time to uproot what was planted ;
3:3 A time to kill , and a time to heal ; a time to break down , and a time to build up ;
3:4 A time to weep , and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn , and a time to dance .
3:5 A time to throw away stones , and a time to gather stones ; a time to embrace , and a time to refrain from embracing ;
3:6 A time to search , and a time to give something up as lost ; a time to keep , and a time to throw away ;
3:7 A time to rip , and a time to sew ; a time to keep silent , and a time to speak .
3:8 A time to love , and a time to hate ; a time for war , and a time for peace .
Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing
3:9 What benefit can a worker gain from his toil ?
3:10 I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied .
3:11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time , but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained , from the beginning to the end of their lives.
Enjoy Life in the Present
3:12 I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live ,
3:13 and also that everyone should eat and drink , and find enjoyment in all his toil , for these things are a gift from God .
God’s Sovereignty
3:14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever ; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
3:15 Whatever exists now has already been , and whatever will be has already been ; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past .
The Problem of Injustice and Oppression
3:16 I saw something else on earth : In the place of justice , there was wickedness , and in the place of fairness , there was wickedness .
3:17 I thought to myself , “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked ; for there is an appropriate time for every activity , and there is a time of judgment for every deed .
3:18 I also thought to myself , “It is for the sake of people , so God can clearly show them that they are like animals .
3:19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same : As one dies , so dies the other ; both have the same breath . There is no advantage for humans over animals , for both are fleeting .
3:20 Both go to the same place , both come from the dust , and to dust both return .
3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward , and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth ?
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Life |
Philosophy |
Instruction |
PROVIDENCE, 1 |
God |
Death |
Animals |
PSALMS, BOOK OF |
Happiness |
Laughter |
Contentment |
Justice |
Dust |
Mankind |
Rulers |
DANCE |
Dancing |
Wicked |
Gifts from God |
Tongue |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 3:2; Ecc 3:2; Ecc 3:6; Ecc 3:9; Ecc 3:9; Ecc 3:10; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:12; Ecc 3:12; Ecc 3:12; Ecc 3:12; Ecc 3:13; Ecc 3:15; Ecc 3:15; Ecc 3:15; Ecc 3:16; Ecc 3:16; Ecc 3:17; Ecc 3:18; Ecc 3:18; Ecc 3:18; Ecc 3:18; Ecc 3:19; Ecc 3:21
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:2 In 3:2-8, Qoheleth uses fourteen sets of merisms (a figure using polar opposites to encompass everything in between, that is, totality), e.g., Deut 6:...
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:9 This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man gains nothing from his toil!” (see E. W....
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:11 The phrase “of their lives” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:13 Heb “for it.” The referent of the 3rd person feminine singular independent person pronoun (“it”) is probably the preceding sta...
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:15 The phrase “in the past” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Ecc 3:17 The phrase “a time of judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
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