Beginnings

¹ There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens: ² a time for giving birth and a time for dying, a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted, ³ a time for killing and a time for healing, a time for tearing down and a time for building up, ⁴ a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing, ⁵ a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces, ⁶ a time for searching and a time for losing, a time for keeping and a time for throwing away, ⁷ a time for tearing and a time for repairing, a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking, ⁸ a time for loving and a time for hating, a time for war and a time for peace. ⁹ What do workers gain from all their hard work? ¹⁰ I have observed the task that God has given human beings. ¹¹ God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there’s nothing better for them but to enjoy themselves and do what’s good while they live. ¹³ Moreover, this is the gift of God: that all people should eat, drink, and enjoy the results of their hard work.