Ecclesiastes 3:1–15

¹To everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven:

²a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to break down and a time to build,

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,

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

⁶a time to search and a time to count as lost,

a time to keep and a time to discard,

⁷a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them. ¹¹He 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.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor — this is the gift of God. ¹⁴I 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. ¹⁵What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.