Ecclesiastes 3:1–13

Everything Has Its Time

³For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:^*

²a time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;^*

³a time to kill and a time to heal;

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

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;^*

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

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

⁶a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

⁷a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;^*

⁸a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.^*

The God-Given Task

⁹What gain have the workers from their toil?^{* 10}I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.^{* 11}He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.^{* 12}I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; ¹³moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.