Eclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 For everything there is a season, and *ver. 17;ch. 8:6a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to *Heb. 9:27die;

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 to *[Rom. 12:15] weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to *[2 Sam. 6:14]; See Ex. 15:20dance;

5 a time to *[2 Kgs. 3:25] cast away stones, and a time to *[Isa. 5:2] gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to *[Joel 2:16]refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to *[Matt. 10:39] lose;

a time to keep, and a time to *[Prov. 11:24]cast away;

7 a time to *See Gen. 37:29tear, and a time to sew;

a time to *Amos 5:13keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to *[Luke 14:26]hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

9 What *See ch. 1:3gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen *See ch. 1:13the business that *See Gen. 3:17-19God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has *[Gen. 1:31] made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot *ch. 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 is *[ver. 22] nothing better for them than to be joyful and to *Ps. 34:14;37:3do good as long as they live; 13 also *See ch. 2:24that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is *[ch. 2:24;5:19]God’s gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; *[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, *[ch. 1:9] already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God *[ch. 12:14]seeks what has been driven away.*3:15 Hebrew what has been pursued

From Dust to Dust

16 Moreover, *ch. 4:1I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even *ch. 5:8;[ch. 4:1]there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, *Matt. 16:27;2 Cor. 5:10;See Rom. 2:6-11;2 Thess. 1:6-10God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is *ver. 1;ch. 8:6a 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 but *Ps. 49:12,20;73:22beasts. 19 *See ch. 2:14For 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.*3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a "vapor" or "mere breath" (see note on 1:2)20 All go to one place. All are from *ch. 12:7;Gen. 3:19the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether *[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 is *See ch. 2:24nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for *See ch. 2:10that is his lot. Who can bring him to see *ch. 2:19;6:12;8:7;10:14what will be after him?