Ecclesiastes 3:9-22

9People work very hard, but what do they receive in return?

10I have seen the difficult work that God has given people to do. He has caused them to be very busy.

11God has chosen a good time for all things to happen. He has caused people to think about things that will continue for ever. But nobody can completely understand everything that God has done, from the beginning of their lives to the end.

12So I realized that people should be happy. They should enjoy good things as long as they live. There is nothing better for people to do than that.

13People should be happy to eat and to drink. They should enjoy the work that they do. All these things are gifts from God.

14I know that everything that God does continues for ever. Nobody can add anything to it. Nobody can take anything away from it. God does these things so that people will respect his authority.

15Whatever is happening now has happened before. Everything that will happen in the future has already happened. God causes the same things to happen again and again.

16I saw something else that happens on the earth. Judges should choose what is right, but instead they choose what is wicked. They should decide what is fair, but they do evil things.

17I said to myself, ‘One day, God will judge everyone, righteous people and wicked people. He has chosen a time for everything. So there is a right time when he will judge people.’

18I also thought, ‘God wants people to know that they are like animals. That is why he tests us.

19The same thing happens to humans as happens to animals. We all breathe for a time and then we die. Humans are no different to animals. Life has no purpose.

20All living things finally go to the same place. We all come from the dust of the ground. And we all go back to the dust when we die.

21Do the spirits of humans go up into the sky when we die? Do the spirits of animals go down into the ground? Nobody really knows.’

22So I realized that people should enjoy the work that they do. That is the best thing for us to do. It is what God has provided for us. I think that is best, because nobody can show us what will finally happen to us.