¹There is a time for everything,

And a season for every concern under heaven.

²A time to bear children,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to uproot that which has been planted;

³A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to demolish,

And a time to build;

⁴A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

⁵A time to throw stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to be far from embracing;

⁶A time to demand,

And a time to forego;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

⁷A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to be silent,

And a time to speak;

⁸A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time for war,

And a time for peace.

⁹What is the benefit to the maker of what he toils at? ¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of Adam to be exercised by. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its season; he has also put the world into their heart, because of man's failure to find the work which God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I know that there is no good in them, except to rejoice and to do good in one's life, ¹³and also for every man to eat and drink and to see the good in all his toil – it is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that everything that God does will be age-abiding. There is nothing to add to it, and there is nothing to take away from it, and God made it so that men should fear in his presence.

¹⁵That which has been is still here,

And that which is to be has already been.

And God demands an account

Of what has been pursued.

¹⁶And I saw more under the sun,

In the place of justice,

There there was wickedness,

And in the place of righteousness,

There there was wickedness.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

‘God will judge the righteous and the wicked.

For there is a time for every concern,

And then for every work.’

¹⁸I said in my heart, ‘It is because of the behaviour of the sons of Adam, that God will examine them and see whether they are beasts towards each other.’ ¹⁹Because the sons of Adam are subject to an event, and cattle are subject to an event, and they share one event. As is the death of one, so is the death of the other, and all have one breath, and there is no superiority of man over the cattle, for everything is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place, all came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of Adam, which goes up, and the spirit of cattle which goes down to the earth? ²²And I saw that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his works, for that is his apportionment. For who can bring him to look at what will take place after him?