Ecclesiastes 3:2

Ecclesiastes 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
• New International Version (NIV)a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:2

1For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under 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; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Ecclesiastes 3:2 word by word

עֵ֥ת לָלֶ֖דֶת וְעֵ֣ת לָמ֑וּת עֵ֣ת לָטַ֔עַת וְעֵ֖ת לַעֲק֥וֹר נָטֽוּעַ׃Read the interlinear

• timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• plantנָטַעnâţa‛ · to plantH5193

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:2

• Genesis 17:21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
• Genesis 21:1And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
• 1 Samuel 2:5They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have ceasedto hunger: Yea, the barren hath borne seven; And she that hath many children languisheth.
• 1 Kings 13:2And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee.
• 2 Kings 4:16And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.
• Psalms 113:9He maketh the barren woman to keep house, And to bea joyful mother of children. Praise ye Jehovah.
• Isaiah 54:1Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah.
• Luke 1:13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
• John 16:21A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world.
• Acts 7:17But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
• Galatians 4:4but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
• Genesis 47:29And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;
• Numbers 20:24Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
• Numbers 27:12And Jehovah said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mountain of Abarim, and behold the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 3:23And I besought Jehovah at that time, saying,
• Deuteronomy 34:5So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A time to be born, and a time to die - plant - "As in its mother's womb the embryo lies A space determined; to full growth arrived, From its dark prison bursts, and sees the light; So is the period fix'd when man shall drop Into the grave - A time there is to plant, And sow; another time to pluck and reap. Even nations have their destined rise and fall: Awhile they thrive; and for destruction ripe, When grown, are rooted up like wither'd plants."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. 22. time to die--(Psa 31:15; He 9:27). plant--A man can no more reverse the times and order of "planting," and of "digging up," and transplanting, than he can alter the times fixed for his "birth" and "death." To try to "plant" out of season is vanity, however good in season; so to make earthly things the chief end is vanity, however good they be in order and season. Gill takes it, not so well, figuratively (Jr 18:7, 9; Am 9:15; Mt 15:13).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:2

• Death

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Providence
• 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