Everything Has Its Time

3 For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:^(A)

¹⁷ I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter and for every work.”^(A)

³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^[a]

⁵ Whoever obeys a command will meet no harm, and the wise mind will know the time and way. ⁶ For every matter has its time and way, although the troubles of mortals lie heavy upon them.^(A)

¹⁴ In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them.^(A)

²⁶ But he said to him, “Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept silver and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves?^(A)

³ I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was good for mortals to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

¹⁷ So I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a chasing after wind.^(A)

¹² While he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.^(A)