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A Time for Everything

¹ There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^(C1)time for every matter under heaven—

² A time to give birth and a ^(C1)time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

³ A ^(C1)time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.

⁴ A time to ^(C1)weep and a time to ^(C2)laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to ^(C3)dance.

⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.

⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to ^(C1)be silent and a time to speak.

⁸ A time to love and a time to ^(C1)hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

^9 (C1)What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?¹⁰ I have seen the ^(C1)task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to ^(F1)occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

¹² I know that there is ^(C1)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime;¹³ moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the ^(C1)gift of God.¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^(F1)(C1)fear Him.^15 (C1)That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^(F1)seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is ^(C1)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.¹⁷ I said ^(F1)to myself, "^(C1)God will judge the righteous and the wicked," for a ^(C2)time for every matter and for every deed ^(F2)is there.¹⁸ I said ^(F1)to myself regarding the sons of mankind, "God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as ^(C1)animals, they to themselves."^19 (C1)For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals ^(F1)is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility.²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the ^(C1)dust and all return to the dust.²¹ Who knows that the ^(C1)spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth?²² I have seen that ^(C1)nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his ^(F1)lot. For who will bring him to see ^(C2)what will occur after him?