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; ¹  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, ¹  and a time to die; ²  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 ¹  there is an appointed time, ²  and an appropriate time ³  for every activity ⁴  on earth: ⁵ 

Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise ¹  you might die before your time.

Whoever obeys his ¹  command will not experience harm, and a wise person ²  knows the proper time ³  and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression ¹  of the king ²  is severe upon his victim. ³ 

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, ¹  and your princes feast at the proper time ²  – with self-control and not in drunkenness. ³ 

Surely, no one ¹  knows his appointed time! ²  Like fish that are caught in a deadly ³  net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people ⁴  are ensnared ⁵  at an unfortunate ⁶  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 ¹  for every deed.

God has made everything fit beautifully ¹  in its appropriate time, but ²  he has also placed ignorance ³  in the human heart ⁴  so that ⁵  people ⁶  cannot discover what God has ordained, ⁷  from the beginning to the end ⁸  of their lives. ⁹ 

While applying ¹  my mind ²  to everything ³  that happens in this world, ⁴  I have seen all this: Sometimes one person ⁵  dominates ⁶  other people ⁷  to their harm. ⁸ 

Again, ¹  I observed this on the earth: ²  the race is not always ³  won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity ⁴  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 ⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome ⁶  them all.