English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 3:7
7a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecclesiastes 3:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
- New International Version (NIV)a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
- New King James Version (NKJV)A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
- New Living Translation (NLT)A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Context of Ecclesiastes 3:7
5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a 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. 9What gain has the worker from his toil?
Read all of Ecclesiastes 3Ecclesiastes 3:7 word by word
עֵ֤ת לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִתְפּ֔וֹר עֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:7
- Genesis 37:29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes
- 2 Samuel 1:11Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
- 2 Samuel 3:31Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier.
- 1 Kings 21:27And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
- 2 Kings 5:7And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me."
- 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body—
- Jeremiah 36:24Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments.
- Joel 2:13and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
- Acts 9:39So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.
- Job 2:13And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
- Psalms 39:2I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.
- Isaiah 36:21But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, "Do not answer him."
- Jeremiah 8:14Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
- Lamentations 3:28Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
- Amos 5:13Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.
- Amos 8:3The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord God. "So many dead bodies!" "They are thrown everywhere!" "Silence!"
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7A time to rend, - sew, - keep silence, - speak - - "Intestine broils And factions rend a state: at length the breach Is heal'd, and rest ensues. Wisdom restrains The tongue, when words are vain: but now, 'Tis time to speak, and silence would be criminal."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Rend - i. e., Tear garments in sign of mourning or anger. See 2 Samuel 1:2, 2 Samuel 1:11 ff.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. 77. rend--garments, in mourning (Joe 2:13); figuratively, nations, as Israel from Judah, already foretold, in Solomon's time (1Ki 11:30, 31), to be "sewed" together hereafter (Eze 37:15, 22). silence--(Am 5:13), in a national calamity, or that of a friend (Job 2:13); also not to murmur under God's visitation (Le 10:3; Psa 39:1, 2, 9).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:7
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries