Ecclesiastes 3:5

Young's Literal Translation

A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

Hebrew Names Version
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

King James Version
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

English Standard Version
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

New American Standard Bible
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

New Century Version
There is a time to throw away stones and a time to gather them. There is a time to hug and a time not to hug.

Amplified Bible
A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

World English Bible
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

Geneva Bible (1587)
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones: a time to embrace, and a time to be farre from embracing.

Legacy Standard Bible
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

Berean Standard Bible
a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

Contemporary English Version
for throwing stones and gathering stones, embracing and parting.

Complete Jewish Bible
a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

Darby Translation
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Easy-to-Read Version
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.

George Lamsa Translation
A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

Good News Translation
the time for making love and the time for not making love, the time for kissing and the time for not kissing.

Lexham English Bible
a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

Literal Translation
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to cast awaye stones, and a tyme to gather stones together: A tyme to enbrace, & a tyme to refrayne from enbracynge:

American Standard Version
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Bible in Basic English
A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; {S}{S}{N}

King James Version (1611)
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together: a time to imbrace, and a time to refraine from imbracing.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to cast away stones, and a tyme to gather stones together: A tyme to imbrace, and a tyme to refrayne from imbracyng.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to abstain from embracing;

English Revised Version
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme to scatere stoonys, and tyme to gadere togidere; tyme to colle, and tyme to be fer fro collyngis.

Update Bible Version
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

Webster's Bible Translation
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

New English Translation
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

New King James Version
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

New Living Translation
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

New Life Bible
There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing.

New Revised Standard
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to cast away stones, and a time to heap up stones, - A time to embrace, and a time to be far from loving embrace;

Douay-Rheims Bible
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

Revised Standard Version
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

Contextual Overview

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

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

to cast: Joshua 4:3-9, Joshua 10:27, 2 Samuel 18:17, 2 Samuel 18:18, 2 Kings 3:25

a time to embrace: Exodus 19:15, 1 Samuel 21:4, 1 Samuel 21:5, Song of Solomon 2:6, Song of Solomon 2:7, Joel 2:16, 1 Corinthians 7:5

refrain from: Heb. be far from

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:46 - Gather

Cross-References

Genesis 2:17
and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die.'

Genesis 3:2
And the woman saith unto the serpent, `Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we do eat,

Genesis 3:3
and of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die.'

Genesis 3:6
And the woman seeth that the tree [is] good for food, and that it [is] pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make [one] wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat;

Genesis 3:7
and the eyes of them both are opened, and they know that they [are] naked, and they sew fig-leaves, and make to themselves girdles.

Genesis 3:10
and he saith, `Thy sound I have heard in the garden, and I am afraid, for I am naked, and I hide myself.'

Genesis 3:13
And Jehovah God saith to the woman, `What [is] this thou hast done?' and the woman saith, `The serpent hath caused me to forget -- and I do eat.'

Genesis 3:14
And Jehovah God saith unto the serpent, `Because thou hast done this, cursed [art] thou above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field: on thy belly dost thou go, and dust thou dost eat, all days of thy life;

Genesis 3:15
and enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee -- the head, and thou dost bruise him -- the heel.'

Genesis 3:22
And Jehovah God saith, `Lo, the man was as one of Us, as to the knowledge of good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand, and have taken also of the tree of life, and eaten, and lived to the age,' --

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together,.... To cast stones out of a field or vineyard where they are hurtful, and to gather them together to make walls and fences of, or build houses with; and may be understood both of throwing down buildings, as the temple of Jerusalem, so that not one stone was left upon another; of pouring out the stones of the sanctuary, and of gathering them again and laying them on one another; which was done when the servants of the Lord took pleasure in the stones of Zion, and favoured the dust thereof. Some understand this of precious stones, and of casting them away through luxury, wantonness, or contempt, and gathering them again: and it may be applied, as to the neglect of the Gentiles for a long time, and the gathering of those stones of which children were raised to Abraham; so of the casting away of the Jews for their rejection of the Messiah, and of the gathering of them again by conversion, when they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign on his land, Zechariah 9:16;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing: or "to be far from" g it; it may not only design conjugal embraces h, but parents embracing their children, as Jacob did his; and one brother embracing another, as Esau Jacob, and one friend embracing another; all which is very proper and agreeable at times: but there are some seasons so very calamitous and distressing, in which persons are obliged to drop such fondnesses: it is true, in a spiritual sense, of the embraces of Christ and believers, which sometimes are, and sometimes are not, enjoyed, Proverbs 4:8.

g עת לרחק "tempus elongandi se", Pagninus, Montanus; "tempus longe fieri", V. L. h "Optatos dedit amplexus", Virgil. Aeneid. 8. v. 405.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Stones may be regarded either as materials for building, or as impediments to the fertility of land (see 2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25; Isaiah 5:2).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:5. A time to cast away stones, - to gather stones, - to embrace, - to refrain —

"One while domestic cares abortive prove,

And then successful. Nature now invites

Connubial pleasures: but, when languid grown,

No less rejects."