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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-10

The scope of these verses is to show, 1. That we live in a world of changes, that the several events of time, and conditions of human life, are vastly different from one another, and yet occur promiscuously, and we are continually passing and repassing between them, as in the revolutions of every day and every year. In the wheel of nature (Jas. 3:6) sometimes one spoke is uppermost and by and by the contrary; there is a constant ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning; from one extreme to the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:8

A time to love, and a time to hate ,.... For one to love his friend, and to hate a man, a sinner, as the Targum; to love a friend while he continues such, and hate him, or less love him, when he proves treacherous and unfaithful; an instance of a change of love into hatred may be seen in the case of Amnon, 2 Samuel 13:15 . A time of unregeneracy is a time of loving worldly lusts and sinful pleasures, the company of wicked men, and all carnal delights and recreations; and a time of... 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 3:8

A time to love, and a time to hate. This reminds one of the gloss to which our Lord refers ( Matthew 5:43 ), "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy," the first member being found in the old Law (Le 19:18), the second being a misconception of the spirit which made Israel God's executioner upon the condemned nations. It was the maxim of Bias, quoted by Aristotle, 'Rhet.,' Ecclesiastes 2:13 , that we should love as if about some day to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. A time to die And as there is a time to die, so there is a time to rise again, a set time, when they that lie in the grave shall be remembered. A time to kill When men die a violent death. A time to heal When he who seemed to be mortally wounded is healed. A time to weep When men have just occasion for weeping, as they frequently have in the present life, both for their own sins and for the sins and miseries of mankind. “It is in vain,” says Castalio, here, “to... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Events controlled by God’s fixed order (3:1-15)In 1:1-11 the author considered the ceaseless toil and repetition in the natural world and decided that life was useless. Now (ignoring for the moment the conclusions he has just outlined in 2:24-26) he considers the fixed order of events in the world. It appears to him that everything happens at the time God has decided it will happen. In view of this, all human effort to improve life is useless. People can change nothing (3:1-9).Human beings may... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 3:8

to love. Jeremiah 2:2 .Ezekiel 16:8 . Daniel 1:9 . Galatians 1:5 , Galatians 1:13 . 2 Thessalonians 1:3 . to hate. 2 Samuel 13:15 .Psalms 105:25 .Proverbs 25:17 . Luke 14:26 . Proverbs 11:15 ; Proverbs 15:27 ; Proverbs 28:16 . John 12:25 .Jude 1:23 . of war. Exodus 17:16 . Numbers 1:3 , Numbers 1:20 , Numbers 1:22 ; Numbers 26:2 .Deuteronomy 3:18 . Judges 3:2 . 2 Samuel 3:1 .Jeremiah 6:4 .Luke 14:31 .Revelation 12:7 ; Revelation 19:11 , Revelation 19:19 . of peace. Joshua 11:23 ; Joshua... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:8

Ecclesiastes 3:8. A time to love, &c.— The third proof the proposition laid down in the beginning, and comprised in Ecc 3:1-8 is taken from the endless vicissitude of things in this world, and especially of those which depend on our choice. There is nothing that a man can fix upon, of which it is in his power to say, I will always be in the same mind with respect to it. The most contradictory resolutions have their time with us, and succeed one another, as appears from the annexed list of... read more

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