Ecclesiastes 3:16–22

¹⁶And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment—there is the wicked; and the place of righteousness—there is the wicked. ¹⁷I said in my heart, ‘The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time is to every matter and for every work there.’ ¹⁸I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves are beasts. ¹⁹For an event is to the sons of man, and an event is to the beasts, even one event is to them; as the death of this, so is the death of that; and one spirit is to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole is vanity. ²⁰The whole are going unto one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back unto the dust. ²¹Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth? ²²And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it is his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?

Chapter 4