Passage

Ecclesiastes 3.4

Book: Ecclesiastes · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3. a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (Ecclesiastes 3:2-6, ASV)

WEB

2. a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3. a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (Ecclesiastes 3:2-6, WEB)

KJV

2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; ^{to be: Heb. to bear} 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ^{to refrain from: Heb. to be far from} 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ^{get: or, seek} (Ecclesiastes 3:2-6, KJV)

YLT

2. A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted. 3. A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.

4. A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing. 6. A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away. (Ecclesiastes 3:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Qohelet, "the Preacher" (Ecclesiastes 1:1), traditionally Solomon
Audience: readers of Israel's wisdom tradition weighing life "under the sun"
Location: Jerusalem, where the Preacher "was king over Israel" (Ecclesiastes 1:12)
Time period: traditionally c. 970-930 BC (Solomon's reign); many scholars date the book later, c. 450-200 BC

Theological reading

The verse is part of the poem of times (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Its two pairs move from private emotion, weeping and laughing, to public expression, mourning and dancing. Both griefs and joys are given their seasons.

The poem does not require perpetual cheer, and it does not treat grief as failure. Elsewhere Qohelet says "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). The rest of Scripture keeps both seasons in view: "Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15), and Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35).

The pairing also leaves room for one season to turn into the other. The psalmist says, "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing" (Psalms 30:11). The poem itself only marks that both have their time, and that the times belong to God, who "hath made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

Passages:

Ecclesiastes 3

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.