Ecclesiastes 3:7

Ecclesiastes 3:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
• New International Version (NIV)a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:7

5A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. 6A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to keep silent and a time to speak. 8A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. 9What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?

Ecclesiastes 3:7 word by word

עֵ֤ת לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִתְפּ֔וֹר עֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to rendקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• to sewתָּפַרtâphar · to sewH8609
• to keep silenceחָשָׁהchâshâh · be silentH2814
• to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:7

• Genesis 37:29Now Reuben [unaware of what had happened] returned to the pit, and [to his great alarm found that] Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his clothes [in deep sorrow].
• 2 Samuel 1:11Then David grasped his own clothes and tore them [in mourning]; so did all the men who were with him.
• 2 Samuel 3:31Then David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier.
• 1 Kings 21:27Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning).
• 2 Kings 5:7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes [in shock and outrage at the request] and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me [a request] to heal a man of his leprosy? Just consider [what he is asking] and see how he is seeking an opportunity [for a battle] with me.”
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes—now he was still walking along on the wall—and the people looked [at him], and he had on sackcloth underneath [his royal robe] next to his skin.
• Jeremiah 36:24Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their clothes.
• Joel 2:13Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.” Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people]; And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].
• Acts 9:39So Peter got up [at once] and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upstairs room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing [him] all the tunics and robes that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.
• Job 2:13So they sat down on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
• Psalms 39:2I was mute and silent [before my enemies], I refrained even from good, And my distress grew worse.
• Isaiah 36:21But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for King Hezekiah’s command was, “Do not answer him.”
• Jeremiah 8:14Why are we sitting still [the people wonder]? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified cities And let us die there, For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin And given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, Because we have sinned against the Lord.
• Lamentations 3:28Let him sit alone [in hope] and keep quiet, Because God has laid it on him [for his benefit].
• Amos 5:13Therefore, he who is prudent and has insight will keep silent at such a [corrupt and evil] time, for it is an evil time [when people will not listen to truth and will disregard those of good character].
• Amos 8:3In that day, the songs of the palace shall turn to wailing,” says the Lord God. “There will be many dead bodies; in [sacred] silence they will throw them everywhere.”

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7A time to rend, - sew, - keep silence, - speak - - "Intestine broils And factions rend a state: at length the breach Is heal'd, and rest ensues. Wisdom restrains The tongue, when words are vain: but now, 'Tis time to speak, and silence would be criminal."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Rend - i. e., Tear garments in sign of mourning or anger. See 2 Samuel 1:2, 2 Samuel 1:11 ff.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-8We cannot control when we are born or when we die (Ecclesiastes 8:8), but we must live wisely between those events. plant and...uproot: Make wise agricultural decisions during the natural seasons. In ancient Israel, times to kill included capital punishment and war. During mourning, people in the Near East often tore their clothes. There is a time to hate, even for God (Psalms 5:5; 11:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. rend--garments, in mourning (Joe 2:13); figuratively, nations, as Israel from Judah, already foretold, in Solomon's time (1Ki 11:30, 31), to be "sewed" together hereafter (Eze 37:15, 22). silence--(Am 5:13), in a national calamity, or that of a friend (Job 2:13); also not to murmur under God's visitation (Le 10:3; Psa 39:1, 2, 9).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:7

• Speaking
• Tongue

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Providence
• Silence
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings