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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 3:2

A time to be born ,.... The Targum is, "to beget sons and daughters;' but rather it is to bear them, there being a time in nature fixed for that, called the hour of a woman, Job 14:1 ; and a time to die ; the time of a man's coming into the world and going out of it, both being fixed by the Lord F6 "Stat sua cuique dies, breve et irreparabile tempus omnibus est vitae"; Virgil. Aeneid. l. 10. : this is true of all men in general, of all men that come into the world, for whom... read more

John Gill

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

A time to kill, and a time to heal ,.... A time to kill may be meant of a violent death, as a time to die is of a natural one; so the Targum, "a time to kill in war;' or else, by the hand of the civil magistrate, such who deserve death. Aben Ezra interprets it "to wound", because of the opposite "to heal"; and so there is a time when wounds and diseases are incurable, and baffle all the skill of the physician, being designed unto death; and there is a time when, by the blessing of God on... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh ,.... There is a time for these things, as it goes ill or well with persons, as to their health, estate, or friends; and as it goes ill or well with kingdoms and states. The Jews wept when they were in Babylon, and their mouths were filled with laughter when their captivity was returned, Psalm 137:1 ; and as it goes ill or well with the church of Christ, when there are corruptions in doctrine and worship, a neglect of ordinances, declensions in faith and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:5

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together ,.... To cast stones out of a field or vineyard where they are hurtful, and to gather them together to make walls and fences of, or build houses with; and may be understood both of throwing down buildings, as the temple of Jerusalem, so that not one stone was left upon another; of pouring out the stones of the sanctuary, and of gathering them again and laying them on one another; which was done when the servants of the Lord... read more

Adam Clarke

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

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

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