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Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, King James Version (KJV)
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:”
World English Bible (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV)
- 1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
- 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
- 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
- 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
- 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
- 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
- 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
- 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
- 9What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
- 10I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
- 11He 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.
- 12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
- 13And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
- 14I 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.
- 15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
- 16And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
- 17I 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.
- 18I 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.
- 19For 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.
- 20All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
- 21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
- 22Wherefore 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?
Related verses
Passages that readers often connect with Ecclesiastes 3:1, in the King James Version.
Ecclesiastes 3:17
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.
Matthew 16:3
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Ecclesiastes 8:5–6
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. …
Ecclesiastes 7:14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
2 Kings 5:26
And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
Proverbs 15:23
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
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1769 standardized text (eBible.org eng-kjv). Public domain outside the United Kingdom. Text courtesy of the Crosswire Bible Society and eBible.org. World English Bible Protestant Edition (eBible engwebp, 2026-09-15 snapshot). Public domain. World English Bible is a trademark of eBible.org. Text unmodified; footnotes and formatting omitted. Related verses: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0), from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.