Ecclesiastes 3: a time for everything

A time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh.

Bible reference: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For funerals

At a glance

Text: King James Version, at the bottom of this page
Length, read slowly: About a minute and a half
Where it goes: Old Testament reading · Christian funeral serviceRead by: reader or officiant
Old Testament Scripture · Homegoing serviceRead by: officiant or reader
Scripture reading · Celebration of lifeRead by: family or friends

Have the officiant read your choice first: they have the last word.

We don’t show modern translations here: they are protected by copyright. You can find them in your church’s Bible or on the publisher’s website. Further down this page is the text from the King James Version, which you may use freely.

Use in your program

What this reading says

The writer says everything has its season, and then he proves it with fourteen pairs. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to weep and a time to laugh. The pairs do not take sides. Weeping is not worse than laughing; both belong to a full life. The passage ends with war and peace, and leaves you there. It simply says that a life has a shape, and that the shape includes an ending.

When it fits

Choose this reading when your guests hold many different beliefs, or none. It comes from the Bible, so a churchgoing aunt will be content, but it mentions God nowhere, so a secular cousin will not feel preached at. It suits a long life with its share of both columns. Many Americans know it from the Byrds' song, which helps a nervous room settle. Next to Psalm 23, which offers comfort, Ecclesiastes offers perspective. If your family wants the same calm with a clearer word of hope, look at Isaiah 40.

Reading it aloud

At a celebration of life a sibling, grandchild or longtime friend usually reads it; in a church funeral it can be the Old Testament reading. Read the pairs in an even rhythm and resist the urge to speed up when the list gets long. One tip: a slight pause after each "and" keeps the two halves of every pair distinct. The King James Version has "a time to rend, and a time to sew," which few people use in daily speech; a modern translation says "a time to tear." Set the text in short lines in the funeral program so the pairs stand out on the page.

Text from the King James Version

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

This older translation is in the public domain in the United States, so you may print it in your program for free. A Catholic Mass reads from the lectionary, so for a Mass, paste the text your parish uses.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Goes well with

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