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,
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast 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;

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 throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, 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 30:30Indeed, you had little before I arrived, but now your possessions have increased many times over. The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?”
• Genesis 31:18He took away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac.
• Exodus 12:35Now the Israelites had done as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians silver and gold items and clothing.
• Deuteronomy 8:17Be careful not to say, “My own ability and skill have gotten me this wealth.”
• 2 Kings 5:26Elisha replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants.
• 2 Kings 8:9So Hazael went to visit Elisha. He took along a gift, as well as forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
• Matthew 16:25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
• Matthew 19:29And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
• Mark 8:35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.
• Mark 10:28Peter began to speak to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow you!”
• Luke 9:24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:1Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.
• 2 Kings 7:15So they tracked them as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. The scouts went back and told the king.
• Psalms 112:9He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored.
• Isaiah 2:20At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,
• Jonah 1:5The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound 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