1 For everything there is a season, andlver. 17; ch. 8:6 a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time tomHeb. 9:27 die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck 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 ton[Rom. 12:15] weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time too[2 Sam. 6:14]; See Ex. 15:20 dance;
5 a time top[2 Kgs. 3:25] cast away stones, and a time toq[Isa. 5:2] gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time tor[Joel 2:16] refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time tos[Matt. 10:39] lose;
a time to keep, and a time tot[Prov. 11:24] cast away;
7 a time touSee Gen. 37:29 tear, and a time to sew;
a time tovAmos 5:13 keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time tow[Luke 14:26] hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 WhatxSee ch. 1:3 gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seenySee ch. 1:13 the business thatzSee Gen. 3:17-19 God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He hasa[Gen. 1:31] made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannotbch. 8:17; [Job 5:9; Rom. 11:33] find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there isc[ver. 22] nothing better for them than to be joyful and todPs. 34:14; 37:3 do good as long as they live; 13 alsoeSee ch. 2:24 that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this isf[ch. 2:24; 5:19] God's gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever;g[James 1:17] nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is,h[ch. 1:9] already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and Godi[ch. 12:14] seeks what has been driven away.
16 Moreover,jch. 4:1 I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, evenkch. 5:8; [ch. 4:1] there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart,lMatt. 16:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; See Rom. 2:6-11; 2 Thess. 1:6-10 God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there ismver. 1; ch. 8:6 a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are butnPs. 49:12, 20; 73:22 beasts. 19 oSee ch. 2:14 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are frompch. 12:7; Gen. 3:19 the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whetherq[ch. 12:7] the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there isrSee ch. 2:24 nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, forsSee ch. 2:10 that is his lot. Who can bring him to seetch. 2:19; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14 what will be after him?