Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:5
5a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;
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 tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; 6a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; 7a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;
Read all of Ecclesiastes 3Ecclesiastes 3:5 word by word
עֵ֚ת לְהַשְׁלִ֣יךְ אֲבָנִ֔ים וְעֵ֖ת כְּנ֣וֹס אֲבָנִ֑ים עֵ֣ת לַחֲב֔וֹק וְעֵ֖ת לִרְחֹ֥ק מֵחַבֵּֽק׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:5
- Joshua 4:3and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
- Joshua 10:27At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are still there today.
- 2 Samuel 18:17They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.
- 2 Kings 3:25They would destroy the cities, and each of them would throw a stone to cover every good piece of land. They would stop up every spring and cut down every good tree. This went on until only the buildings of Kir-hareseth were left. Then men with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.
- Exodus 19:15He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.”
- 1 Samuel 21:4The priest told him, “There is no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread, but the young men may eat it only if they have kept themselves from women.”
- Joel 2:16Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the infants, even babies nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
- 1 Corinthians 7:5Do not deprive one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of 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
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
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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