New King James 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,
- English Standard Version (ESV)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; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw 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 of war, And a time of peace. 9What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
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 37:29Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
- 2 Samuel 1:11Therefore David took hold of his own 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, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” And King David followed the coffin.
- 1 Kings 21:27So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.
- 2 Kings 5:7And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”
- 2 Kings 6:30Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.
- Jeremiah 36:24Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
- Joel 2:13So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
- Acts 9:39Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
- Job 2:13So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
- Psalms 39:2I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up.
- Isaiah 36:21But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
- Jeremiah 8:14“Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the Lord our God has put us to silence And given us water of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the Lord.
- Lamentations 3:28Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him;
- Amos 5:13Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.
- Amos 8:3And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord God— “Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries