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,
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
• New Living Translation (NLT)A time to search and a time to quit searching. 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, 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 little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?"
• Genesis 31:18He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.
• Exodus 12:35The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
• Deuteronomy 8:17Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.'
• 2 Kings 5:26But he said to him, "Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
• 2 Kings 8:9So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, "Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"
• Matthew 16:25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
• Matthew 19:29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
• Mark 8:35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
• Mark 10:28Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you."
• Luke 9:24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:1Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
• 2 Kings 7:15So they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.
• Psalms 112:9He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
• Isaiah 2:20In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
• Jonah 1:5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

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