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Sunday, August 3rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Read the Bible

Douay-Rheims Bible

Ecclesiastes 3:4

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

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;
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 All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. 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 destroy, and a time to build. 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. 6 A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. 8 A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What hath man more of his labour? 10 I have seen the trouble, which God hath given the sons of men to be exercised in 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 the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.
Deuteronomy 29:19
And when he shall hear the words of this oath, he should bless himself in his heart saying: I shall have peace, and will walk on in the naughtiness of my heart: and the drunken may consume the thirsty,
2 Kings 1:4
Wherefore, thus saith the Lord: From the bed, on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. And Elias went away.
2 Kings 1:6
But they answered him: A man met us, and said to us: Go, and return to the king, that sent you, and you shall say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel, that thou sendest to Beelzebub, the god of Accaron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed, on which thou art gone up, but thou shalt surely die.
2 Kings 1:16
And said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast sent messengers to consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, as though there were not a God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word; therefore, from the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die.
2 Kings 8:10
And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: but the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.
Psalms 10:11
(9-32) For he hath said in his heart: God hath forgotten, he hath turned away his face, not to see to the end.
2 Corinthians 2:11
That we be not overreached by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his devices.
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ.
1 Timothy 2:14
And Adam was not seduced; but the woman, being seduced, was in the 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."


 
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