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King James Version
A Time for Everything
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and
a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and
a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones
together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a
time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a
time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he
laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons
of men to be exercised in it.
11 He 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.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a
man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy
the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I 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.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath
already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment,
that wickedness was there; and the place of
righteousness, that iniquity was there.
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.
18 I 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.
19 For 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.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn
to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the
spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore 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?1
Bible Commentary
1
Every thing has its time and season. God by his providence
governs the world, and has determined particular things and
operations to particular times. In those times such things
may be done with propriety and success. However if we
neglect the appointed seasons we sin against this providence
and become the authors of our own distresses.
God has given to man that portion of duration called
time; the space in which all the operations of nature,
of animals, and intellectual beings, are carried on. But
while nature is steady in its course, and animals faithful
to their instincts, man devotes it to a great variety of
purposes, very frequently to that for which God never made
time, space, or opportunity.2
2 It is worthy of remark, that in the list of events
to verse 8, there are but two things which may be said to be
done generally by the disposal of God, and in which men can
have but little influence: the time of birth, and the time
of death. All the others are left to the option of man,
though God continues to overrule them by his providence.2
There is a time to plant or sow in season, another
time to pluck up or reap. To plant out of season is vanity.3
There comes a time when even the finest fruit trees must be
cut down.4
3
There is a right time to kill. Commentators disagree whether
Solomon here refers to war or to other circumstances. It is
possible that he is speaking of the execution of criminals,
or he may be thinking of an injured domestic animal.4
Killing through malice is murder and out of God's time and
order.3 Medicines when used out of season, that
is, at the wrong time or for an unintended purpose, can lead
to sickness or death. However if correctly applied in a
timely manner can restore health.2 There is a
time to break down; for example there comes a time when old
buildings must be demolished and more convenient ones put up
in their stead.4
4 It is a good thing at times to allow pent-up
emotions to express themselves when men have just occasion.4
Laughter has been compared to a good medicine. There is a
time to mourn for the dead. In ancient times dancing was an
important part of religious and festive ceremonies; for
example, David danced before the ark.3
5 There is a time to cast away stones such as
clearing the fields of the stones that impede cultivation.4
A time to gather stones together such as to the building of
a wall or house. A time to embrace when persons perform
friendly graces one to another.5
6 There is a time to seek and search. There's also a
time to give up as lost, for example, after an
intensive search proves futile.4 There is a time
to keep, for example, by not giving to the idle beggar. A
time to cast away such in charity3 or when a man
casts away his goods voluntarily as in a storm to save his
life.5
7 There is a time for men to rend their garments as
in great and sudden griefs.5 There are
circumstances under which silence is golden.
8 There is a time to love such as when God stirs up
love, or gives occasion for the exercise of it.5
There is a time to hate, for example, sins and lusts. A time
of war and peace.3
9 What real good or pleasure is derived from all the
labours of man? Necessity is the principal motive behind his
cares and toils; he labours that he may eat and drink and
thus to preserve his life and be kept from sickness and
pain. Love of money, the basest of all passions, and
restless ambition, drive men to many labours and expedients,
which perplex and often destroy them.2
10 Because man is a sinner, he suffers much travail.2
The practical difficulties of life can be met successfully
only under God's leading.4
11
God created everything good, not only perfect for
practical use, but beautiful in its appeal to the eye and to
the taste. God has deeply implanted within man a concern for
the future. This awareness of the infinite in time and space
stirs dissatisfaction with the transitory nature of the
things of life. It is God's design that man realise that the
present, material world does not constitute the sum of his
existence. He is linked to two worlds, physically to this
world, but mentally, emotionally and psychologically to the
eternal world. The unaided human intellect cannot enter into
the intricacies of God's created marvels or the mysteries of
eternity that God has not seen fit to reveal.4
12 When received as God's gifts, and to His
glory, the good things of life are enjoyed in their due time
and order.3 Man should endeavour as much as
possible to do others good and share his transient
blessings.2 He should avoid self-indulgence and
sensual joys.3
13 It was the will of the creator that man enjoy, in
moderation, the good things provided for his needs, and
happiness.4
14 All God's counsels or decrees are eternal and
unchangeable. Men can neither do any thing against God's
counsel and providence, nor hinder any work or act of it.5
15 Whatever changes there be, the succession of
events is ordered by God's everlasting laws, and returns in
a fixed cycle.3 God governs the world now, as he
has governed it from the beginning; and the revolutions and
operations of nature are the same now, that they have been
from the beginning. What we see now is the same as that seen
by those before us. The heavens themselves, taking in their
great revolutions, show the same phenomena.2
16 A judge is supposed to be the embodiment or
personification of all right doing. However throughout the
ages bribery and corruption have resulted in the
enthronement of wickedness in the very courts sacred to the
dispensing of justice.4
17 God is not only the one who will act as arbiter to
decide the cases of the righteous and wicked, but also the
one who executes the penalty.4
18 God tests men as a disciplinary measure in order
to cleanse and purify them. There is hope for the man who
recognises his sinful and unclean condition.4
19 All living creatures are identical in that, with
the cessation of breath, the creature dies; the physical
consequences of death are the same. Outward appearances
suggest no superiority for man. But through faith in the
Inspired Word we believe that God will redeem man from the
power of the grave.4
20 Both the man and beast live transient and frail
lives, draw the same breath, grow old and return to the
earth as dust from which they were made.2
21 The destiny of the body is known; it returns to
the dust, through a process of disintegration - but human
wisdom cannot ascertain what happens to the spirit or
breath, except that it shall return unto God. The Hebrew
word ruach is translated breath in verse 19
and spirit in verse 21. Note that man and beast both
have a ruach, and the ruach of man is one
with that of the beast. If then, the ruach or
spirit of man becomes a disembodied entity at death, the
ruach of beasts must also. But the Bible nowhere so
much as infers that at death a disembodied, conscious
spirit continues to live on, and no Christian claims
this for animals. Solomon incredulously asks who can prove
that the ruach of man ascends, while that of the
beast descends. He knows nothing of such a proceeding and
doubts that anyone else does. If so, let him prove it.4
22 Solomon says that man should find contentment and
satisfaction in what this life has to offer. This is the
normal outlook of the man who does not have faith firmly
based on eternal things. What lies beyond the grave is
outside the scope of human knowledge.4 When he is
dead, man shall never return to see into whose hands his
estate falls.5
References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. Adam Clarke's Commentaries - Ecclesiastes 3
3. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
(1871) ECCLESIASTES; OR THE PREACHER. Commentary by
A. R. FAUSSETT
4. SDA Bible Commentary
Vol. 3 pgs. 1073-1076
5. John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
- The Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
6.
www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/Solomon -
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?