לַכֹּל זְמָן וְעֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם

The section begins with a general statement: For everything there is a season, its appropriate time, and there is a suitable time for every purpose, action, desire, or wish, beneath the heavens.

עֵת לָלֶדֶת וְעֵת לָמוּת עֵת לָטַעַת וְעֵת לַעֲקוֹר נָטוּעַ

The song lists the various events that man experiences in life: There is a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot the planted.

עֵת לַהֲרוֹג וְעֵת לִרְפּוֹא עֵת לִפְרוֹץ וְעֵת לִבְנוֹת

There is a time to kill and destroy life and a time to heal and restore it; a time to breach, to demolish, and a time to build;

עֵת לִבְכּוֹת וְעֵת לִשְׂחוֹק עֵת סְפוֹד וְעֵת רְקוֹד

a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time for lamenting and a time for dancing;

עֵת לְהַשְׁלִיךְ אֲבָנִים וְעֵת כְּנוֹס אֲבָנִים עֵת לַחֲבוֹק וְעֵת לִרְחֹק מֵחַבֵּק

a time to cast stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. In certain situations it is improper to embrace.

עֵת לְבַקֵּשׁ וְעֵת לְאַבֵּד עֵת לִשְׁמוֹר וְעֵת לְהַשְׁלִיךְ

There is a time to seek or desire something and a time to lose it; a time to keep and a time to discard;

עֵת לִקְרוֹעַ וְעֵת לִתְפּוֹר עֵת לַחֲשׁוֹת וְעֵת לְדַבֵּר

a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

עֵת לֶאֱהֹב וְעֵת לִשְׂנֹא עֵת מִלְחָמָה וְעֵת שָׁלוֹם

a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.

מַה־יִּתְרוֹן הָעוֹשֶׂה בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא עָמֵל

In light of this perspective, that all worldly matters are arranged in an organized fashion, Kohelet reiterates his question on the benefit and purpose of the world: What is the advantage of the doer in that he toils?

רָאִיתִי אֶת־הָעִנְיָן אֲשֶׁר נָתַן אֱלֹהִים לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ

I have seen the concerns that God has given to the sons of man in which to engage, to occupy themselves with.

אֶת־הַכֹּל עָשָׂה יָפֶה בְעִתּוֹ גַּם אֶת־הָעֹלָם נָתַן בְּלִבָּם מִבְּלִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִמְצָא הָאָדָם אֶת הַמַּעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה הָאֱלֹהִים מֵרֹאשׁ וְעַד־סוֹף

He made everything beautiful in its time; He put the world too in their heart, to think about and engage in its matters, notwithstanding that man will not discover, understand, from beginning to end the significance of the accomplishment that God has accomplished.

יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵין טוֹב בָּם כִּי אִם־לִשְׂמוֹחַ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב בְּחַיָּיו

Since no one is privy to God’s actions or plans, I know that there is nothing good for them, the people, other than for each to rejoice in his portion, and to do good during his life.

וְגַם כָּל־הָאָדָם שֶׁיֹּאכַל וְשָׁתָה וְרָאָה טוֹב בְּכָל־עֲמָלוֹ מַתַּת אֱלֹהִים הִיא

Also, each man who eats and drinks and sees good in all his toil, living a standard, reasonable life, it is the gift of God.

יָדַעְתִּי כִּי כָּל־אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה הָאֱלֹהִים הוּא יִהְיֶה לְעוֹלָם עָלָיו אֵין לְהוֹסִיף וּמִמֶּנּוּ אֵין לִגְרוֹעַ וְהָאֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה שֶׁיִּרְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו

Regardless of all our actions, I know that everything that God does, it will be forever; one cannot add to it and cannot subtract from it. Since God is in charge of the world, man cannot alter it much. God caused the helplessness people experience because of the way He runs the world, so that they would experience fear before Him. This fear stems from the feeling of a lack of control over the world and all the vicissitudes that befall a person.

מַה־שֶּׁהָיָה כְּבָר הוּא וַאֲשֶׁר לִהְיוֹת כְּבָר הָיָה והָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף

That which was already is present now, and that which will be in the future already was. Nothing changes in the world. And in this state where nothing is under the control of man, it is God who seeks the pursued and assists him.

וְעוֹד רָאִיתִי תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ מְקוֹם הַמִּשְׁפָּט שָׁמָּה הָרֶשַׁע וּמְקוֹם הַצֶּדֶק שָׁמָּה הָרָשַׁע

Furthermore, I saw under the sun, in this world: In the place of judgment, there is the wickedness; in the place of justice, there is the wickedness. In contrast to expectations, the judicial system becomes institutionalized evil. In that case, there is no secure refuge from evil.

אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי אֶת־הַצַּדִּיק וְאֶת־הָרָשָׁע יִשְׁפֹּט הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי־עֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ וְעַל כָּל־הַמַּעֲשֶׂה שָׁם

I said in my heart: God will judge the righteous and the wicked, as there is a time for every purpose and ultimately, the day will come when they will be held accountable for every action that was done there, even if it is not currently evident.

אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי עַל־דִּבְרַת בְּנֵי הָאָדָם לְבָרָם הָאֱלֹהִים וְלִרְאוֹת שהֶם בְּהֵמָה הֵמָּה לָהֶם

I said in my heart: It is by the speech of the sons of man that God has distinguished them from other living creatures and elevated their status above the animal world, but I saw that in truth, they, men, are animals to themselves. The difference between them and other life forms is not that significant.

כִּי מִקְרֶה בְנֵי־הָאָדָם וּמִקְרֶה הַבְּהֵמָה וּמִקְרֶה אֶחָד לָהֶם כְּמוֹת זֶה כֵּן מוֹת זֶה וְרוּחַ אֶחָד לַכֹּל וּמוֹתַר הָאָדָם מִן־הַבְּהֵמָה אָיִן כִּי הַכֹּל הָבֶל

For the fate of the sons of man is the fate of the animal; there is one fate for them. The demise of the animal awaits man as well. Like the death of this, so is the death of that, and there is one spirit for all; the superiority of the man over the animal is nothing, as everything is futility. The most impressive elements of human culture and achievement, e.g., the construction of the pyramids, the composition of brilliant music, and the development of higher-order mathematics, cannot remove the decree of death hovering over man’s head as he is a member of the kingdom of the living.

הַכֹּל הוֹלֵךְ אֶל־מָקוֹם אֶחָד הַכֹּל הָיָה מִן־הֶעָפָר וְהַכֹּל שָׁב אֶל־הֶעָפָר

When one considers physical existence alone, it is clear that everything goes to one place; everything was from the dust, and everything returns to the dust upon death. All material objects begin as raw material and ultimately return to that state.

מִי יוֹדֵעַ רוּחַ בְּנֵי הָאָדָם הָעֹלָה הִיא לְמָעְלָה וְרוּחַ הַבְּהֵמָה הַיֹּרֶדֶת הִיא לְמַטָּה לָאָרֶץ

In contrast, with regard to the spirit, who knows the spirit of the sons of man? Does it ascend upward, and the spirit of the animal, does it descend downward to the earth? Most people do not consider the difference between the spirit of man and that of the animal.

וְרָאִיתִי כִּי אֵין טוֹב מֵאֲשֶׁר יִשְׂמַח הָאָדָם בְּמַעֲשָׂיו כִּי־הוּא חֶלְקוֹ כִּי מִי יְבִיאֶנּוּ לִרְאוֹת בְּמֶה שֶׁיִּהְיֶה אַחֲרָיו

I saw that there is nothing better, at least as a temporary solution, a palliative, than that a man should rejoice in his actions, as that is his portion, for who will bring him to see that which will be after him? Since knowledge of what awaits him after death is unattainable, it is preferable to live a simple active life and rejoice in the portion that is presently his.