Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 5th, 2025
the Week of Proper 8 / Ordinary 13
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

Ecclesiastes 3:4

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Dancing;   Laughter;   Thompson Chain Reference - Dancing;   The Topic Concordance - Time;   War/weapons;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Time;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Dance;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Garden;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Dancing;   Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Israel, History of;   Laugh;   Poetry;   Time, Meaning of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;   Games;   Laughter;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Dancing;   Laughter;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Dance;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Ass;   Dance;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Games;   Laughter;   Providence;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Dancing;   Hillel;   Temurah, Midrash;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for September 27;  

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;
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.
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

1To everything—a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens: 2A time to bring forth, || And a time to die. A time to plant, || And a time to eradicate the planted. 3A time to slay, || And a time to heal, || A time to break down, || And a time to build up. 4A time to weep, || And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, || And a time to skip.5A time to cast away stones, || And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, || And a time to be far from embracing. 6A time to seek, || And a time to destroy. A time to keep, || And a time to cast away. 7A time to tear, || And a time to sew. A time to be silent, || And a time to speak. 8A time to love, || And a time to hate. A time of war, || And a time of peace. 9What advantage does the doer have in that which he is laboring at? 10I have seen the travail that God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

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
And YHWH God says to the woman, "What [is] this you have done?" And the woman says, "The serpent has caused me to forget, and I eat."
Deuteronomy 29:19
and it has been, in his hearing the words of this oath, that he has blessed himself in his heart, saying, I have peace, though I go on in the stubbornness of my heart—in order to sweep away the watered with the thirsty.
2 Kings 1:4
And therefore, thus said YHWH: The bed to where you have gone up, you do not come down from it, for you certainly die"; and Elijah goes on.
2 Kings 1:6
And they say to him, "A man has come up to meet us and says to us, Go, return to the king who sent you, and you have said to him, Thus said YHWH: Is it because there is not a God in Israel—you are sending to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron? Therefore, the bed to where you have gone up, you do not come down from it, for you certainly die."
2 Kings 1:16
and speaks to him, "Thus said YHWH: Because that you have sent messengers to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron—is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore, the bed to where you have gone up—you do not come down from it, for you certainly die."
2 Kings 8:10
And Elisha says to him, "Go, say, You certainly do not revive, seeing [that] YHWH has showed me that he surely dies."
Psalms 10:11
He said in his heart, "God has forgotten, || He has hid His face, || He has never seen."
2 Corinthians 2:11
that we may not be over-reached by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 11:3
and I fear, lest, as the serpent deceived Eve in his subtlety, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that [is] in the Christ;
1 Timothy 2:14
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, came into transgression,

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."


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile