Ecclesiastes 3:1

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Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,
A ^atime for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time¹ to be born,
And ^aa time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck 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 ^aweep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
^aA time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain,
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;
^aA time to keep silence,
And a time to ^bspeak;

8 A time to love,
And a time to ^ahate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

The God-Given Task

9 ^aWhat profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

10 ^aI have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that ^ano one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

12 I know that nothing is ^abetter for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

13 and also that ^aevery man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
^aNothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.

15 ^aThat which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God¹ requires an account of what is past.

Injustice Seems to Prevail

16 Moreover ^aI saw under the sun:
In the place of¹ judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
¹Iniquity was there.

Commentaries:

John Wesley's Notes

<< Ecclesiastes 2:26

Ecclesiastes 3:2 >>

Ecclesiastes 3:1

A season - A certain time appointed by God for its being and continuance, which no human wit or providence can alter. And by virtue of this appointment of God, all vicissitudes which happen in the world, whether comforts or calamities, come to pass. Which is here added to prove the principal proposition, That all things below are vain, and happiness is not to be found in them, because of their great uncertainty, and mutability, and transitoriness, and because they are so much out of the reach and power of men, and wholly in the disposal of God. Purpose - Not only natural, but even the voluntary actions of men, are ordered and disposed by God. But it must be considered, that he does not here speak of a time allowed by God, wherein all the following things may lawfully be done, but only of a time fixed by God, in which they are actually done.

<< Ecclesiastes 2:26

Ecclesiastes 3:2 >>

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Everything Has Its Time

The God-Given Task

Injustice Seems to Prevail

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning