Time is one of the most present concepts in our lives and it is not strange that the Bible also dedicates a chapter to it. Want to know what it says? In Ecclesiastes 3 you will find the answer.
Ecclesiastes 3 complete and menaing
In a world in which most things are designed to be done in the shortest possible time, it is normal that numerous cases of stress and anxiety appear.
Should we feel pressed for time? Do we have to worry about the transience of life? Are we going to have some things left to do? All these questions and many more are intended to be answered in Ecclesiastes 3 and today we bring you an analysis of this chapter.
A word of advice, although time is very important to you, take this article calmly and enjoy the Word of God, relaxing and feeling the power of this text. Today you are going to learn many things from a very beautiful fragment that you probably didn’t know.
To put you in the picture, you will first be able to listen to the chapter of Ecclesiastes 3 in this video. This will help you to prepare your mind and your heart for prayer and understand the chapter much better.
Ecclesiastes 3 in English and large print
This text is like a precious poem, so it is much more impressive to hear than to read. Even so, you can now read Ecclesiastes 3 in its entirety in the King James Version Bible, so that you can follow the text with an audition, or simply read at your own pace.
Enjoy how wonderful this chapter is, and feel free to replay it as many times as you need!
Everything has its time
1 Everything has its time, and everything under heaven has its hour.
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to destroy, and a time to build;
4 time to weep, and time to laugh; time to mourn, and time to dance;
5 a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 time to seek, and time to lose; time to keep, and time to cast away;
7 time to break, and time to sew; time to be silent, and time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that laboreth, of that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the work that God has given to the sons of men to occupy themselves with.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time; and He has put eternity in their hearts, without man being able to understand the work that God has done from the beginning to the end.
12 I have known that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their life;
13 and also that it is the gift of God that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor.
14 I have understood that whatsoever God doeth shall endure for ever: there shall not be added thereto, neither shall there be diminished from it; and God doeth it, that men may fear before him.
15 That which was, is already; and that which is to be, has already been; and God restores that which is past.
Injustices of life
16 I saw more under the sun: instead of judgment, there was wickedness; and instead of righteousness, there was iniquity.
17 And I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in my heart, It is so, for the sake of the sons of men, that God may test them, and that they may see that they themselves are like the beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men, and that which befalleth beasts, is one and the same event: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; and they all have one breath; neither hath man more than beast: for all is vanity.
20 Everything goes to the same place; everything is made from dust, and everything will return to the same dust.
21 Who knows that the spirit of the sons of men ascends above, and that the spirit of the animal descends below to the earth?
22 So then I have seen that there is no better thing for a man than to rejoice in his work, for this is his portion; for who will carry him, that he may see what is to be after him?
Explanation and meaning of Ecclesiastes 3
As we have been saying throughout this article, today you are in front of one of the biblical texts that deepen the way of seeing and living life, giving a special emphasis on the time of the Lord.
It is well known that, in general, today’s society is based on speed and the pursuit of ephemeral pleasures instead of cultivating and caring for a prosperous spiritual happiness close to the Lord.
In this section we will analyze Ecclesiastes 3 in detail The program is divided into blocks of verses separated by themes, and you will see that almost nothing will be left understood. Let’s get started!
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, all things have their season.
To the surprise of many who know other biblical texts well, Ecclesiastes 3 begins with a beautiful poem, repeating up to seven times 7 consecutive occasions the same structure of the verses.
This is not in vain. Apart from endowing the text with a very special beauty, the author wants to emphasize one word: “time”. This is repeated so many times and followed by so many actions to give us the certainty that there is no need to suffer for it There is plenty of time to do many things or, at least, to do the things that God has prepared for our lives.
The summary is the opening verse, which we leave you below in a more current translation of the Bible:
“Everything has its proper time; there is a season for everything under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 nvi).
It is worth noting that this phrase also hides a dark side that we don’t tend to think about. Just as there is time for all good things, there is time for the bad. Undoubtedly, we all have gone through and will go through difficult moments that will be part of our lives.
This sequence of contrasts between good and bad things in life makes us realize that we cannot yearn for a life without problems, since they will always be part of it even if we don’t want to. We must simply live with the problems and try to solve them with God’s help.
All the verses are quite clear, although the following stand out, Ecclesiastes 3:3 which mentions something that is clearly opposed to our Christian ideals.
The translation of the original Hebrew text into English has caused this third verse to begin with the phrase “Time to kill”, contradicting the Jewish and Christian commandments known to all since antiquity.
You should know that the word kill used here and in the commandments is different in Hebrew and is far from meaning “to commit murder”.
- Ecclesiastes 3:9, Ecclesiastes 3:10 and Ecclesiastes 3:11; the time of God
These three verses break the structure of the initial poem to clearly separate the subject to be treated.
In the first part, we talked about people’s time, which we use to perform all the actions of our lives. On the other hand, we have God, eternal and superior to time.
Moreover, God created the universe and with it the time we feel. So, there is nothing to fear; the Lord will give us the time we need to live a full life if we follow His Word.
The stress and anxiety that arise when time is viewed as a chase of a persecution and not as an ally. A life lived following the way of the Lord will probably have little or no problems of this type.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12-15; final conclusion
The last verses of this part serve to highlight Solomon’s understanding of time. As it is well said, the Lord knows our present, our past and our future.
Moreover, God is infinite love, so everything will be all right in the end, even if bad times abound in our lives. Every bad situation will precede a much better future that will make us realize how important it is to have problems in our lives.
The Lord did not bring us into the world to suffer, and for this reason we have time to enjoy with our loved ones using all that we have earned with our sweat. Make good use of time and use it wisely as the Lord wants you to use it.
- Ecclesiastes 3:16-22; the unrighteousness of life
The second part of Ecclesiastes 3 is devoted to a different theme, although somewhat related to that of the first part. Here Solomon realizes that in this world there are many people who spend their time for their own benefit, harming others and acting in a way that is not in their best interest.
The message is clear, do not be envious of them. Although some seem to live successfully in the material, their spiritual life is stagnant and time lasts much longer than a simple human life.
Be patient, the Lord is eternal and things do not change many times in days, months or years. Constancy in the love of God is what will lead you to true success in this life and you will have what is right for you.
Ecclesiastes 3 Prayer
This is the end of the biblical commentary on Ecclesiastes 3, but before you go, we suggest you watch this prayer video, so that you can dedicate a small part of your day to the Lord and finish understanding everything you have learned here.
Context of Ecclesiastes 3 (King James Bible)
Before going with the analysis of Ecclesiastes 3, let’s show you its context, which will surely make you understand the message of the chapter much better.
This is the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which belongs to the Old Testament of the Bible and is shared by Christians and Jews. Unlike other books in this part of the Bible, such as the prophetic books, this book does not narrate historical events of the Jewish people.
Together with Proverbs and Psalms, they form the group of the so-called wisdom books, whose objective is to educate the faithful to act according to God’s designs. Ecclesiastes is a very deep philosophical work that we recommend you to read, as it will make you reflect on many aspects of life.
As far as today’s chapter is concerned, you have been able to see that it is a work fully dedicated to thinking about the value of time in our lives, a topic of vital importance in today’s world.
The Book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon According to religious tradition, he was the son of King David, unifier of Israel and author of the Psalms. To this father and son duo are given the aforementioned books and also Proverbs, which was written by Solomon.
Thus, we must thank these two important people for leaving such valuable works for our knowledge and for laying the foundations of behavior to live the faith fully.
Time has passed while you were reading this article, which is now coming to an end. We hope you feel that these minutes have been well spent and that you know today a new biblical text that will help you in your life.
So, we bid you farewell and say goodbye until the next article!
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