Ecclesiastes 3:1–13

A Time for Everything

¹There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^atime for every ¹event under heaven—

²A time to give birth and a ^atime to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

³A ^atime to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

⁴A time to ^aweep and a time to ^blaugh;

A time to mourn and a time to ^cdance.

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

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

⁶A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to ^abe silent and a time to speak.

⁸A time to love and a time to ^ahate;

A time for war and a time for peace.

^9aWhat profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

¹⁰I have seen the ^atask which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

¹¹He has ^amade everything ¹appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, ²yet so that man ^bwill not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹²I know that there is ^anothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

¹³moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the ^agift of God.