A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

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

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;

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

For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:

Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time – with self-control and not in drunkenness.

Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.

I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

Again, I observed this on the earth: the race is not always won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome them all.