Ecclesiastes 3:8

Ecclesiastes 3:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
• New International Version (NIV)a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:8

6a time to start looking and a time to stop looking, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7a time to tear apart and a time to sew together, a time to keep quiet and a time to speak out, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9What do working people gain from their hard labor? 10I have seen mortals weighed down with a burden that God has placed on them.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 word by word

עֵ֤ת לֶֽאֱהֹב֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂנֹ֔א עֵ֥ת מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְעֵ֥ת שָׁלֽוֹם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to loveאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
• to hateשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
• of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• of peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peaceH7965

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:8

• Ezekiel 16:8“ ‘I went by you again and looked at you. You were old enough to make love to. So I spread my robe over you, and covered your naked body. I promised to love you, and I exchanged marriage vows with you. You became mine, declares the Almighty Lord.
• Psalms 139:21Shouldn’t I hate those who hate you, O Lord? Shouldn’t I be disgusted with those who attack you?
• Ephesians 3:19You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.
• Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.
• 2 Chronicles 19:2Jehu, son of the seer Hanani, asked King Jehoshaphat, “Why do you help wicked people and love those who hate the Lord? The Lord’s anger is directed toward you because you have done this.
• Luke 14:26“If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples.
• Revelation 2:2I know what you have done—how hard you have worked and how you have endured. I also know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars.
• Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan.
• Joshua 8:1The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be terrified or afraid. Take all the troops with you, and march against Ai. I am about to hand the king of Ai, his people, city, and land over to you.
• Joshua 11:23Joshua captured the whole land as the Lord had promised Moses. He gave it to Israel as a possession, dividing it among the tribes. So the land had peace.
• 2 Samuel 10:6The Ammonites realized that they had made themselves offensive to David. So they hired the Arameans from Beth Rehob and Zobah (20,000 foot soldiers), ⌞the army of⌟ the king of Maacah (1,000 men), and the men of Tob (12,000 men).
• 1 Kings 5:4But the Lord my God has surrounded me with peace. I have no rival and no trouble.
• 2 Chronicles 20:1Later the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8A time to love, - hate, - of war, - of peace - "Love turns to hatred; interest or caprice Dissolves the firmest knot by friendship tied. O'er rival nations, with revenge inflamed, Or lust of power, fell Discord shakes awhile Her baleful torch: now smiling Peace returns." The above paraphrase on the verses cited contains a general view of the principal occurrences of time, in reference to the human being, from his cradle to his grave, through all the…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. 88. hate--for example, sin, lusts (Lu 14:26); that is, to love God so much more as to seem in comparison to hate "father or mother," when coming between us and God. a time of war ... peace--(Lu 14:31).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:8

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In the dictionaries

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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