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Ecclesiastes 3

1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

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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;

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5

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

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7

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

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10

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

2
11

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

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12

I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

13

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

14

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

15

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

16

And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

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17

I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

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18

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

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20

All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

21

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

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Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

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Ecclesiastes 3:2

“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”

Study Summary

The enumeration of opposite times—birth and death, planting and plucking up—establishes that existence encompasses a full spectrum of human experience, neither purely good nor purely evil. The rhythm of opposites suggests a kind of cosmic justice or balance; what is lost is eventually replenished, what dies is born anew. Yet the inclusion of death in this catalogue of natural times, presented as neither lamentable nor exceptional, recommends a kind of acceptance of mortality as part of the world's inherent order.

Community Reflections

1
Chiara Russo (test user)10h ago
The armor of God — Ecclesiastes 3

Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was experiencing — both the anguish and the hope.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. This connects directly to the promise made to Abraham. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. Today it speaks comfort; a year ago it spoke conviction.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. God is faithful in every circumstance.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. God is faithful in every circumstance..…

Read the note →

Ecclesiastes 3:2

“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”

Study Summary

The enumeration of opposite times—birth and death, planting and plucking up—establishes that existence encompasses a full spectrum of human experience, neither purely good nor purely evil. The rhythm of opposites suggests a kind of cosmic justice or balance; what is lost is eventually replenished, what dies is born anew. Yet the inclusion of death in this catalogue of natural times, presented as neither lamentable nor exceptional, recommends a kind of acceptance of mortality as part of the world's inherent order.

Community Reflections

1
Chiara Russo (test user)10h ago
The armor of God — Ecclesiastes 3

Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was experiencing — both the anguish and the hope.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. This connects directly to the promise made to Abraham. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. Today it speaks comfort; a year ago it spoke conviction.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. God is faithful in every circumstance.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. God is faithful in every circumstance..…

Read the note →

Ecclesiastes 3:2

The enumeration of opposite times—birth and death, planting and plucking up—establishes that existence encompasses a full spectrum of human experience, neither purely good nor purely evil. The rhythm of opposites suggests a kind of cosmic justice or balance; what is lost is eventually replenished, what dies is born anew. Yet the inclusion of death in this catalogue of natural times, presented as neither lamentable nor exceptional, recommends a kind of acceptance of mortality as part of the world's inherent order.