Ecclesiastes 3:5

Ecclesiastes 3:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
• New International Version (NIV)a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:5

3a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, 4a 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, 6a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, 7a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

Ecclesiastes 3:5 word by word

עֵ֚ת לְהַשְׁלִ֣יךְ אֲבָנִ֔ים וְעֵ֖ת כְּנ֣וֹס אֲבָנִ֑ים עֵ֣ת לַחֲב֔וֹק וְעֵ֖ת לִרְחֹ֥ק מֵחַבֵּֽק׃Read the interlinear

• a timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to cast awayשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• to gatherכָּנַסkânas · to gatherH3664
• to embraceחָבַקchâbaq · to embraceH2263
• to refrainרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:5

• Joshua 4:3and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”
• Joshua 10:27At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.
• 2 Samuel 18:17They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
• 2 Kings 3:25They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.
• Exodus 19:15“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
• 1 Samuel 21:4“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
• Joel 2:16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.
• 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5A time to cast away stones, - to gather stones, - to embrace, - to refrain - "One while domestic cares abortive prove, And then successful. Nature now invites Connubial pleasures: but, when languid grown, No less rejects."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Stones may be regarded either as materials for building, or as impediments to the fertility of land (see 2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25; Isaiah 5:2).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. 55. cast away stones--as out of a garden or vineyard (Is 5:2). gather--for building; figuratively, the Gentiles, once castaway stones, were in due time made parts of the spiritual building (Ep 2:19, 20), and children of Abraham (Mt 3:9); so the restored Jews hereafter (Psa 102:13, 14; Zec 9:16). refrain ... embracing--(Joe 2:16; 1Co 7:5, 6).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Embrace
• 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