Ecclesiastes 3:7

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;
• English Standard Version (ESV)a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, 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 scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9What do workers gain from their toil?

Ecclesiastes 3:7 word by word

עֵ֤ת לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִתְפּ֔וֹר עֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• to rendקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• to sewתָּפַרtâphar · to sewH8609
• to keep silenceחָשָׁהchâshâh · be silentH2814
• to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:7

• Genesis 37:29When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
• 2 Samuel 1:11Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
• 2 Samuel 3:31Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier.
• 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
• 2 Kings 5:7As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”
• 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body.
• Jeremiah 36:24The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes.
• Joel 2:13Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
• Acts 9:39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
• Job 2:13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
• Psalms 39:2So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;
• Isaiah 36:21But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
• Jeremiah 8:14Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.
• Lamentations 3:28Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him.
• Amos 5:13Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
• Amos 8:3“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung 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

• Speaking
• Tongue

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Providence
• Silence
• 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