Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Everything Has Its Time
3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:(A)
2 a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;(B)
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;(C)
5 a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;(D)
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 keep silent and a time to speak;(E)
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.(F)
The God-Given Task
9 What gain have the workers from their toil?(G) 10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.(H) 11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.(I) 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
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