Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

New Life Version

Ecclesiastes 3:8

There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Nation;   Thompson Chain Reference - War;   War-Peace;   The Topic Concordance - Time;   War/weapons;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - War;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hate, Hatred;   Time;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Garden;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Israel, History of;   Poetry;   Time, Meaning of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Ass;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Providence;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Peace;   Temurah, Midrash;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for September 24;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to love and a time to hate;a time for war and a time for peace.
Hebrew Names Version
A time to love, And a time to hate; A time for war, And a time for shalom.
King James Version
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
English Standard Version
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
New American Standard Bible
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
New Century Version
There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace.
Amplified Bible
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
World English Bible
A time to love, And a time to hate; A time for war, And a time for peace.
Geneva Bible (1587)
A time to loue, and a time to hate: a time of warre, and a time of peace.
Legacy Standard Bible
A time to love and a time to hate;A time for war and a time for peace.
Berean Standard Bible
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Contemporary English Version
There is also a time for love and hate, for war and peace.
Complete Jewish Bible
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Darby Translation
A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.
Easy-to-Read Version
There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace.
George Lamsa Translation
A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Good News Translation
He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace.
Lexham English Bible
a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
Literal Translation
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to loue, & a tyme to hate: A tyme of warre, and a tyme of peace.
American Standard Version
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Bible in Basic English
A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
A time to love, and a time to hate; {S}{S}{N}
King James Version (1611)
A time to loue, and a time to hate: a time of warre, and a time of peace.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to loue, and a tyme to hate: A tyme of warre, and a tyme of peace.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
English Revised Version
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme of loue, and tyme of hatrede; tyme of batel, and tyme of pees.
Update Bible Version
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Webster's Bible Translation
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
New English Translation
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
New King James Version
A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
New Living Translation
A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
New Revised Standard
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to love and a time to hate, - A time of war, and a time of peace.
Douay-Rheims Bible
A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace.
Revised Standard Version
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Young's Literal Translation
A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Contextual Overview

1 There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under heaven. 2 There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pick what is planted. 3 There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. 4 There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance. 5 There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing. 6 There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away. 7 There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak. 8 There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker get for his work? 10 I have seen the work which God has given the sons of men to do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

time to love: Ezekiel 16:8, Psalms 139:21, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 5:28, Ephesians 5:29, Titus 2:4

a time to hate: 2 Chronicles 19:2, Luke 14:26, Revelation 2:2

a time of war: Genesis 14:14-17, Joshua 8:1-29, Joshua 11:23, 2 Samuel 10:6-19, 1 Kings 5:4, 2 Chronicles 20:1-29, 2 Chronicles 20:30

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 11:1 - after the year

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
Now the snake was more able to fool others than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say that you should not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:2
Then the woman said to the snake, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:3
But from the tree which is in the center of the garden, God has said, ‘Do not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'"
Genesis 3:9
But the Lord God called to the man. He said to him, "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:10
And the man said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden. I was afraid because I was without clothes. So I hid myself."
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:21
And the Lord God made clothes of skins for Adam and his wife, and dressed them.
Genesis 3:22
Then the Lord God said, "See, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and bad. Now then, he might put out his hand to take from the tree of life also, and eat and live forever."
Deuteronomy 4:33
Have any people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the center of the fire, as you have heard it, and still live?
Deuteronomy 5:25
But why should we die now? For this big fire will burn us up. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we will die.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A time to love, and a time to hate,.... For one to love his friend, and to hate a man, a sinner, as the Targum; to love a friend while he continues such, and hate him, or less love him, when he proves treacherous and unfaithful; an instance of a change of love into hatred may be seen in the case of Amnon, 2 Samuel 13:15. A time of unregeneracy is a time of loving worldly lusts and sinful pleasures, the company of wicked men, and all carnal delights and recreations; and a time of conversion is a time to hate what was before loved, sin, and the conversion of sinners, the garment spotted with the flesh, the principles and practices, though not the persons, of ungodly men; and even to hate, that is, less love, the dearest friends and relations, in comparison of, or when in competition with, Christ;

a time of war, and a time of peace; for nations to be engaged in war with each other, or to be at peace, which are continually revolving; and there is a time when there will be no more war. In a spiritual sense, the present time, or state of things, is a time of war; the Christian's life is a warfare state, though it will be soon accomplished, in which he is engaging in fighting with spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, and the world: the time to come, or future state, is a time of peace, when saints shall enter into peace, and be no more disturbed by enemies from within or from without. In the Midrash, all the above times and seasons are interpreted of Israel, and applied to them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:8. A time to love, - hate, - of war, - of peace.

"Love turns to hatred; interest or caprice

Dissolves the firmest knot by friendship tied.

O'er rival nations, with revenge inflamed,

Or lust of power, fell Discord shakes awhile

Her baleful torch: now smiling Peace returns.


The above paraphrase on the verses cited contains a general view of the principal occurrences of time, in reference to the human being, from his cradle to his grave, through all the operations of life.


 
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