Ecclesiastes 3:4

Easy-to-Read Version

There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance with joy.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to weep and a time to laugh;a time to mourn and a time to dance;

Hebrew Names Version
A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

King James Version
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

English Standard Version
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

New American Standard Bible
A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

New Century Version
There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance.

Amplified Bible
A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

World English Bible
A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

Geneva Bible (1587)
A time to weepe, and a time to laugh: a time to mourne, and a time to dance.

Legacy Standard Bible
A time to weep and a time to laugh;A time to mourn and a time to dance.

Berean Standard Bible
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

Contemporary English Version
for crying and laughing, weeping and dancing,

Complete Jewish Bible
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

Darby Translation
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

George Lamsa Translation
A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

Good News Translation
He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing,

Lexham English Bible
a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

Literal Translation
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to wepe, and a tyme to laugh: A tyme to mourne, and a tyme to daunse:

American Standard Version
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Bible in Basic English
A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing;

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

King James Version (1611)
A time to weepe, and a time to laugh: a time to mourne, and a time to dance.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to weepe, and a tyme to laugh: a tyme to mourne, & a tyme to daunce.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to lament, and a time to dance;

English Revised Version
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme to wepe, and tyme to leiye; tyme to biweile, and tyme to daunse.

Update Bible Version
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Webster's Bible Translation
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

New English Translation
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

New King James Version
A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

New Living Translation
A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

New Life Bible
There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance.

New Revised Standard
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to weep, and a time to laugh, - A time to wail, and a time to dance for joy;

Douay-Rheims Bible
A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Revised Standard Version
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Young's Literal Translation
A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

Contextual Overview

¹ There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time. ² There is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to pull up plants. ³ There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to destroy and a time to build. ⁴ There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance with joy. ⁵ There is a time to throw weapons down and a time to pick them up. There is a time to hug someone and a time to stop holding so tightly. ⁶ 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. ⁷ There is a time to tear cloth and a time to sew it. There is a time to be silent and a time to speak. ⁸ There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace. ⁹ Do people really gain anything from their hard work? ¹⁰ I saw all the hard work God gave us to do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

time to weep: Nehemiah 8:9-12, Nehemiah 9:1-38, Psalms 30:5, Psalms 126:1, Psalms 126:2, Psalms 126:5, Psalms 126:6, Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 22:13, Matthew 9:15, Matthew 11:17, John 16:20-22, Romans 12:15, 2 Corinthians 7:10, James 4:9

a time to laugh: Genesis 21:6, Luke 1:13, Luke 1:14, Luke 1:58, Luke 6:21-25

to dance: Exodus 15:20, 2 Samuel 6:16

Reciprocal: Judges 21:21 - dance 1 Chronicles 15:29 - dancing Job 30:31 - General Psalms 30:11 - dancing Psalms 137:4 - How shall Proverbs 25:20 - so Ecclesiastes 7:14 - the day Song of Solomon 2:11 - General Ezekiel 21:10 - should Zechariah 7:3 - Should Luke 15:25 - he John 20:13 - why 1 Corinthians 7:30 - that weep

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" She said, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."

Deuteronomy 29:19
"Some people might hear these curses and comfort themselves by saying, ‘I will continue doing what I want. Nothing bad will happen to me.' But that attitude will bring total disaster.

2 Kings 1:4
Since you did this, the Lord says, You will not get up from your bed. You will die!'" Then Elijah left.

2 Kings 1:6
The messengers said to Ahaziah, "A man came up to meet us and told us to go back to the king who sent us and tell him what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!'"

2 Kings 1:16
Elijah told Ahaziah, "This is what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!'"

2 Kings 8:10
Then Elisha said to Hazael, "Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will live.' But really the Lord told me, ‘He will die.'"

Psalms 10:11
They say to themselves, "God has forgotten about us. He is not watching. He will never see what we are doing."

2 Corinthians 2:11
I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us. We know very well what his plans are.

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies.

1 Timothy 2:14
Also, Adam was not the one who was tricked. It was the woman who was tricked and became a sinner.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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,

Psalms 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 practice, few instances of conversion, and there are divisions and contentions, it is a time for the mourners in Zion to weep but when God creates Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, or makes her an eternal excellency, and the praise of the whole earth, then it is a time to rejoice and be glad, Isaiah 61:3; and as it is, with believers, when Christ is withdrawn from them, it is a time to lament, but, when the bridegroom is with them, it is a time of joy; when it is a night of darkness and desertion, weeping endures, but when the morning comes, the day breaks, and the sun of righteousness arises, joy comes with it, Matthew 9:15

John 16:19. Now in the present state is the saints' weeping time; in the time to come they will laugh, or be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory, Luke 6:21;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance; to mourn at funerals, and to dance at festivals; in a spiritual sense, God sometimes turns the mourning of his people into dancing, or joy, which that is expressive of; see Psalms 30:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:4. A time to weep, - laugh, - mourn, - dance —

_________________ "When private griefs affect

The heart, our tears with decent sorrow flow;

Nor less becoming, when the public mourns,

To vent the deepest sighs. But all around

When things a smiling aspect bear, our souls

May well exult; 'tis then a time for joy."