What does Ecclesiastes 3:1 mean?
This verse opens the famous poem in Ecclesiastes 3, which lists pairs of opposite experiences: a time to be born and to die, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance. The writer, called the Preacher, observes that life moves through seasons we do not fully control. "To every thing there is a season" is not a call to fatalism, but a recognition that God sets the times. Later in the chapter he says God "hath made every thing beautiful in his time." For anyone in a hard season, the verse is a reminder that seasons change, and that God is at work in each one, even when we cannot see how.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 in the World English Bible
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
Context
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;
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Frequently asked questions
What does Ecclesiastes 3:1 mean?
This verse opens the famous poem in Ecclesiastes 3, which lists pairs of opposite experiences: a time to be born and to die, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance. The writer, called the Preacher, observes that life moves through seasons we do not fully control. "To every thing there is a season" is not a call to fatalism, but a recognition that God sets the times. Later in the chapter he says God "hath made every thing beautiful in his time." For anyone in a hard season, the verse is a reminder that seasons change, and that God is at work in each one, even when we cannot see how.
What does Ecclesiastes 3:1 say in the KJV?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) reads: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”