Ecclesiastes 3:6

Contemporary English Version

There is a time for finding and losing, keeping and giving,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to search and a time to count as lost;a time to keep and a time to throw away;

Hebrew Names Version
A time to seek, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to cast away;

King James Version
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

English Standard Version
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

New American Standard Bible
A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

New Century Version
There is a time to look for something and a time to stop looking for it. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away.

Amplified Bible
A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

World English Bible
A time to seek, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to cast away;

Geneva Bible (1587)
A time to seeke, and a time to lose: a time to keepe, and a time to cast away.

Legacy Standard Bible
A time to search and a time to lose;A time to keep and a time to throw away.

Berean Standard Bible
a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard,

Complete Jewish Bible
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to discard,

Darby Translation
A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Easy-to-Read Version
There is a time to look for something and a time to consider it lost. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away.

George Lamsa Translation
A time to lose and a time to seek; a time to tie up and a time to untie;

Good News Translation
He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away,

Lexham English Bible
a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to throw away;

Literal Translation
a time to seek, and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to wynne, and a tyme to lese: A tyme to spare, and a tyme to spende:

American Standard Version
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Bible in Basic English
A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
A time to seek, and a time to lose; {S}{S}{N}

King James Version (1611)
A time to get, and a time to lose: a time to keepe, and a time to cast away.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to wynne, and a tyme to lose: A tyme to spare, and a tyme to spende.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

English Revised Version
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme to wynne, and tyme to leese; tyme to kepe, and tyme to caste awei.

Update Bible Version
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Webster's Bible Translation
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

New English Translation
A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

New King James Version
A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

New Living Translation
A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

New Life Bible
There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away.

New Revised Standard
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to seek, and a time to give up as lost, - A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Douay-Rheims Bible
A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away.

Revised Standard Version
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

Young's Literal Translation
A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

Contextual Overview

¹ Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. ² There is a time for birth and death, planting and reaping, ³ for killing and healing, destroying and building, ⁴ for crying and laughing, weeping and dancing, ⁵ for throwing stones and gathering stones, embracing and parting. ⁶ There is a time for finding and losing, keeping and giving, ⁷ for tearing and sewing, listening and speaking. ⁸ There is also a time for love and hate, for war and peace. ⁹ What do we gain by all of our hard work? ¹⁰ I have seen what difficult things God demands of us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

time to get: or, time to seek, Genesis 30:30-43, Genesis 31:18, Exodus 12:35, Exodus 12:36, Deuteronomy 8:17, Deuteronomy 8:18, 2 Kings 5:26, 2 Kings 8:9, an a time to lose, Matthew 16:25, Matthew 16:26, Matthew 19:29, Mark 8:35-37, Mark 10:28-30, Luke 9:24, Luke 9:25

and a time to cast: Ecclesiastes 11:1, 2 Kings 7:15, Psalms 112:9, Isaiah 2:20, Jonah 1:5, Acts 27:19, Acts 27:38, Philippians 3:7, Philippians 3:8, Hebrews 10:34, Hebrews 10:35

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, "Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?"

Genesis 3:2
The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

Genesis 3:12
"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake: "Because of what you have done, you will be the only animal to suffer this curse— For as long as you live, you will crawl on your stomach and eat dirt.

Genesis 3:15
You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

Genesis 3:17
The Lord said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate fruit from that tree. And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food.

Genesis 3:19
You will have to sweat to earn a living; you were made out of soil, and you will once again turn into soil."

Genesis 39:7
and Potiphar's wife soon noticed him. She asked him to make love to her,

Joshua 7:21
While we were in Jericho, I saw a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred pieces of silver, and a gold bar that weighed the same as fifty pieces of gold. I wanted them for myself, so I took them. I dug a hole under my tent and hid the silver, the gold, and the robe." Joshua had some people run to Achan's tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe.

2 Samuel 11:2
Late one afternoon, David got up from a nap and was walking around on the flat roof of his palace. A beautiful young woman was down below in her courtyard, bathing as her religion required. David happened to see her, and he sent one of his servants to find out who she was. The servant came back and told David, "Her name is Bathsheba. She is the daughter of Eliam, and she is the wife of Uriah the Hittite." David sent some messengers to bring her to his palace. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she returned home.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A time to get, and a time to lose,.... To get substance, as the Targum, and to lose it; wealth and riches, honour and glory, wisdom and knowledge: or, "to seek, and to lose" i; a time when the sheep of the house of Israel, or God's elect, were lost, and a time to seek them again; which was, lone by Christ in redemption, and by the Spirit of God, in effectual calling;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away; to keep a thing, and to cast it away, into the sea, in the time of a great tempest, as the Targum; as did the mariners in the ship in which Jonah was, and those in which the Apostle Paul was, Jonah 1:5; It may be interpreted of keeping riches, and which are sometimes kept too close, and to the harm of the owners of them; and of scattering them among the poor, or casting them upon the waters; see Ecclesiastes 5:13.

i עת לבקש "tempus quaerendi", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Piscator, Mercerus, Gejerus, Rambachius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Get ... lose - Rather, seek, and a time to give up for lost.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:6. A time to get, - to lose, - to keep, - to cast away —

___________________ "Commerce produces wealth,

Whilst time of gaining lasts; from every point

Blow prosperous gales. Now heaven begins to lower,

And all our hopes are blasted. Prudence bids,

One while, our treasure to reserve, and then

With liberal hand to scatter wide. How oft

In raging storms, the owner wisely casts

Into the deep his precious merchandise,

To save the foundering bark!