Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

New American Standard Bible

A Time for Everything

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^(A)time for every matter under heaven—

²A time to give birth and a ^(B)time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
³A ^(C)time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴A time to ^(D)weep and a time to ^(E)laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to ^(F)dance.
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 ^(G)be silent and a time to speak.
⁸A time to love and a time to ^(H)hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

⁹^(I)What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the ^(J)task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to ^[a]occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

¹¹He has ^(K)made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind ^(L)will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹²I know that there is ^(M)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the ^(N)gift of God. ¹⁴I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^[b]^(O)fear Him. ¹⁵^(P)That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^[c]seeks what has passed by.