Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

1There is a right time for everything. Everything that we do on the earth has a proper time.

2There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant seeds. There is a time to pull the plants out of the ground.

3There is a time to kill people. There is a time to make people well. There is a time to destroy things. There is a time to build things.

4There is a time to weep. There is a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. There is a time to dance.

5There is a time to throw stones away. There is a time to pick them up and use them. There is a time to hug people. There is a time to turn away from people.

6There is a time to look for things that you have lost. There is a time to accept that you have lost them. There is a time to keep things. There is a time to throw things away.

7There is a time to tear our clothes. There is a time to mend them. There is a time to say nothing. There is a time to speak.

8There is a time to love. There is a time to hate. There is a time for war. There is a time for peace.

9People work very hard, but what do they receive in return?

10I have seen the difficult work that God has given people to do. He has caused them to be very busy.

11God has chosen a good time for all things to happen. He has caused people to think about things that will continue for ever. But nobody can completely understand everything that God has done, from the beginning of their lives to the end.