Ecclesiastes 3

God Has Ordained the Ebb and Flow of Human Activities

1 For everything there is an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to bear*Or "a time to be born"; MT reads the active form "to bear children" and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to root 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 weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

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

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

6 a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

7 a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to be silent and a time to speak;

8 a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.