Curated semantic-search results from the Bible and early Jewish and Christian writings.
These passages are drawn from a current, full-corpus deep search.
Top matching passages
Best matchEcclesiastes 3:1–12
5/10 · good
1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
Ecclesiastes 3:13–22
5/10 · good
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him. 15 What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed. 16 Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.” 18 I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile. 20 All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth? 22 I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
Ecclesiastes 8:12–17
5/10 · good
12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. 14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. 15 So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun. 16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night— 17 I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.
Ecclesiastes 5:15–20
5/10 · good
15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. 16 This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. 20 For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 2:22–26
5/10 · good
22 For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. 24 Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. 25 For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? 26 To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 9:1–12
6/10 · good
1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. 2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. 3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead. 4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun. 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: 8 Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head. 9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For…
Luke 12:19–30
5/10 · good
19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ 21 This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.” 22 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. 30 For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Ecclesiastes 2:1–6
5/10 · good
1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. 2 I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. 4 I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.
Sirach 29:21–22
4/10 · fair
21 The essentials of life are water, bread, a garment, and a house for privacy. (WEB) 22 Better is the life of a poor man under a shelter of logs than sumptuous fare in another man’s house. (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 2:10–21
6/10 · good
10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun. 12 Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished? 13 And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. 16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 18 I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun…