Ecclesiastes 3:3

Ecclesiastes 3:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
• New International Version (NIV)a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:3

1There is a right time for everything. Everything that we do on the earth has a proper time. 2There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant seeds. There is a time to pull the plants out of the ground. There is a time to kill people. There is a time to make people well. There is a time to destroy things. There is a time to build things. 4There is a time to weep. There is a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. There is a time to dance. 5There is a time to throw stones away. There is a time to pick them up and use them. There is a time to hug people. There is a time to turn away from people.

Ecclesiastes 3:3 word by word

עֵ֤ת לַהֲרוֹג֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִרְפּ֔וֹא עֵ֥ת לִפְר֖וֹץ וְעֵ֥ת לִבְנֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to killהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• to healרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495
• to break downפָּרַץpârats · to break throughH6555
• to build upבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:3

• Deuteronomy 32:39Realize the truth! I alone am God. There is no other god as well as me. I can kill and I can give life. I can hurt people and I can make them well again. Nobody can stop me doing what I choose to do.
• 1 Samuel 2:6The Lord gives both life and death. He sends some people to their graves, and he raises other people up.
• Hosea 6:1‘Listen! We should return to serve the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but now he will make us well again. He has hurt us, but now he will make our wounds better.
• Numbers 26:6Hezron's family and Carmi's family.
• Isaiah 38:5‘Go and say this to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord says, the God that your ancestor David worshipped. I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. So I will let you live for 15 more years.
• Jeremiah 33:6But listen to me! I will bring health again to the people of this city. I will make my people well again. They will live safely in peace.
• Luke 9:54Then James and John heard about what had happened. They asked Jesus, ‘Master, do you want us to ask God to send fire down from the sky? Do you want us to kill these people?’
• Acts 5:15As a result, people carried their sick friends into the streets and put them on beds and mats. They hoped that Peter would pass that way and make their sick friends well again. They just wanted Peter's shadow to touch them.
• Isaiah 5:5Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will break down its walls, so that it becomes an open field. Then wild animals will go in and they will destroy the vines.
• Isaiah 44:26But I do the things that my servants say will happen. I show that my prophets' messages are true. I say about Jerusalem, “People will live there again.” I say about the towns in Judah, “I will cause people to build them again, so that they are no longer heaps of stones.”
• Jeremiah 31:28In past time, I chose to pull them out of their land, like a plant with its roots. I knocked them down and I destroyed them. But now I will put them in their land again, like strong plants.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Jeremiah 45:4But the Lord says this to you, Baruch: “I will soon knock down the things that I have built. I will pull out of the ground the things that I have planted. I will do that everywhere in the land.
• Ezekiel 13:14I will break down your wall with its white paint. I will knock it down to the ground and leave only its foundation. It will fall on you and it will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
• Daniel 9:25I want you, Daniel, to understand this properly. There will be a command to build Jerusalem again. Then 7 weeks will pass, and 62 weeks will also pass. After that, a ruler that God has chosen will arrive. People will build the city of Jerusalem again. It will have streets and a strong wall around it. But there will be a lot of trouble at that time.
• Zechariah 1:12Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘Lord Almighty, how long will you be angry with Jerusalem? How long will you be angry with the cities of Judah? You have already been angry for 70 years.’

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3A time to kill, - heal, - break down, - build up - "The healing art, when out of season used, Pernicious proves, and serves to hasten death. But timely medicines drooping nature raise, And health restore - Now, Justice wields her sword With wholesome rigour, nor the offender spares: But Mercy now is more expedient found. On crazy fabrics ill-timed cost bestow'd No purpose answers, when discretion bids To pull them down, and wait a season fit To build…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. 33. time to kill--namely, judicially, criminals; or, in wars of self-defense; not in malice. Out of this time and order, killing is murder. to heal--God has His times for "healing" (literally, Is 38:5, 21; figuratively, De 32:39; Ho 6:1; spiritually, Psa 147:3; Is 57:19). To heal spiritually, before the sinner feels his wound, would be "out of time," and so injurious. time to break down--cities, as Jerusalem, by Nebuchadnezzar. build up--as Jerusalem, in…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Heal
• 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