Ecclesiastes 3:6

Ecclesiastes 3:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
• New International Version (NIV)a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:6

4a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; 5a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; a 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; 8a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 word by word

עֵ֤ת לְבַקֵּשׁ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לְאַבֵּ֔ד עֵ֥ת לִשְׁמ֖וֹר וְעֵ֥ת לְהַשְׁלִֽיךְ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to getבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• to loseאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• to keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• to cast awayשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:6

• Genesis 30:30For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”
• Genesis 31:18He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac.
• Exodus 12:35The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing.
• Deuteronomy 8:17You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’
• 2 Kings 5:26“And my heart didn’t go when the man got down from his chariot to meet you,” Elisha said. “Is this a time to accept silver and clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, flocks and herds, and male and female slaves?
• 2 Kings 8:9Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: forty camel-loads of all the finest products of Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, King Ben-hadad of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness? ’”
• Matthew 16:25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
• Matthew 19:29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.
• Mark 8:35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it.
• Mark 10:28Peter began to tell him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
• Luke 9:24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:1Send your bread on the surface of the water, for after many days you may find it.
• 2 Kings 7:15So they followed them as far as the Jordan. They saw that the whole way was littered with clothes and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king.
• Psalms 112:9He distributes freely to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted in honor.
• Isaiah 2:20On that day people will throw their worthless idols of silver and gold, which they made to worship, to the moles and the bats.
• Jonah 1:5The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6A time to get, - to lose, - to keep, - to cast away - - "Commerce produces wealth, Whilst time of gaining lasts; from every point Blow prosperous gales. Now heaven begins to lower, And all our hopes are blasted. Prudence bids, One while, our treasure to reserve, and then With liberal hand to scatter wide. How oft In raging storms, the owner wisely casts Into the deep his precious merchandise, To save the foundering bark!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Get … lose - Rather, seek, and a time to give up for lost.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. 66. time to get--for example, to gain honestly a livelihood (Ep 4:23). lose--When God wills losses to us, then is our time to be content. keep--not to give to the idle beggar (2Th 3:10). cast away--in charity (Pr 11:24); or to part with the dearest object, rather than the soul (Mr 9:43). To be careful is right in its place, but not when it comes between us and Jesus Christ (Lu 10:40-42).Read the comment

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