Eclesiastés 3:1-5 NVI

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:5

A time to cast away stones, - to gather stones, - to embrace, - to refrain - read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1

To every thing there is u season, and a time to every purpose under heaven . . "Season" and "time" are rendered by the LXX . καιρός and χρόνος . The word for "season" ( zeman ), denotes a fixed, definite portion of time; while eth , " time ," signifies rather the beginning of a period, or is used as a general appellation. The two ideas are sometimes concurrent in the New Testament; e . g . Acts 1:7 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:1 . So in Wis. 8:8, "wisdom to foreseeth... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The providence of God disposes and arranges every detail of man's life. This proposition is stated first generally, and then worked out in particular by means of antithetical sentences. In Hebrew manuscripts and most printed texts Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 are arranged in two parallel columns, so that one "time" always stands under another. A similar arrangement is found in Joshua 12:9 , etc; containing the catalogue of the conquered Canaanite kings; and in Esther 9:7 , etc; giving the names of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Section 4. In confirmation of the truth that man's happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:2

A time to be born, and a time to die. Throughout the succeeding catalogue marked contrasts are exhibited in pairs, beginning with the entrance and close of life, the rest of the list being occupied with events and circumstances which intervene between those two extremities. The words rendered, "a time to be born," might more naturally mean "a time to bear;" καιρὸς τοῦ τεκεῖν , Septuagint; as the verb is in the infinitive active, which, in this particular verb, is not elsewhere found... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:3

A time to kill, and a time to heal . The time to kill might refer to war, only that occurs in Ecclesiastes 3:8 . Some endeavor to limit the notion to severe surgical operations performed with a view of saving life; but the verb harag does not admit of the meaning "rewound" or" cut." It most probably refers to the execution of criminals, or to the defense of the oppressed; such emergencies and necessities occur providentially without man's prescience. So sickness is a visitation beyond... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh , grouped naturally with a time to mourn, and a time to dance . The funeral and the wedding, the hired mourners and the guests at the marriage-feast, are set against one another. The first clause intimates the spontaneous manifestation of the feelings of the heart; the second, their formal expression in the performances at funerals and weddings and on other solemn occasions. The contrast is found in the Lord's allusion to the sulky children in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:5

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. There is no question about building or demolishing houses, as that has been already mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:3 . Most commentators see an allusion to the practice of marring an enemy's fields by casting stones upon them, as the Israelites did when they invaded Moab ( 2 Kings 3:19 , 2 Kings 3:25 ). But this must have been a very abnormal proceeding, and could scarcely be cited as a usual occurrence. Nor is the notion... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Everything - More particularly, the actions of people (e. g. his own, Ecclesiastes 2:1-8) and events which happen to people, the world of Providence rather than the world of creation. It would seem that most of his own works described in Ecclesiastes 2:1-8 were present to his mind. The rare word translated “season” means emphatically “fitting time” (compare Nehemiah 2:6; Esther 9:27, Esther 9:31). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:5

Stones may be regarded either as materials for building, or as impediments to the fertility of land (see 2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25; Isaiah 5:2). read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:5

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