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,
• 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;
• New Living Translation (NLT)A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:3

1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a 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; 5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

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 32:39"'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
• 1 Samuel 2:6The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
• Hosea 6:1"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
• Numbers 26:6of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites.
• Isaiah 38:5"Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
• Jeremiah 33:6Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.
• Luke 9:54And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
• Acts 5:15so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
• Isaiah 5:5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
• Isaiah 44:26who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins';
• Jeremiah 31:28And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 45:4Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land.
• Ezekiel 13:14And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
• Daniel 9:25Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
• Zechariah 1:12Then the angel of the Lord said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy 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