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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:8

6a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9What do workers gain from their toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

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“ ‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
• Psalms 139:21Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
• Ephesians 3:19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
• Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
• 2 Chronicles 19:2Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is on you.
• Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
• Revelation 2:2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
• Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
• Joshua 8:1Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.
• Joshua 11:23So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
• 2 Samuel 10:6When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.
• 1 Kings 5:4But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.
• 2 Chronicles 20:1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with 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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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