Ecclesiastes 3:1–11

God Has Ordained the Ebb and Flow of Human Activities

3 For everything there is an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to beara and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to root up what is planted;

3 a time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to break down and a time to build up;

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

5 a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

7 a time to tear and a time to sew;

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 in his toil?

No One Understands God’s Mysterious Plan

10 I have seen the business God gives to ⌊humans⌋b to preoccupyc them. 11 He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put ⌊the past⌋d in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end.