Ecclesiastes 3:7

Bible in Basic English

A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to tear and a time to sew;a time to be silent and a time to speak;

Hebrew Names Version
A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

King James Version
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

English Standard Version
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

New American Standard Bible
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

New Century Version
There is a time to tear apart and a time to sew together. There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.

Amplified Bible
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to keep silent and a time to speak.

World English Bible
A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

Geneva Bible (1587)
A time to rent, and a time to sowe: a time to keepe silence, and a time to speake.

Legacy Standard Bible
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;A time to be silent and a time to speak.

Berean Standard Bible
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

Contemporary English Version
for tearing and sewing, listening and speaking.

Complete Jewish Bible
a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep silent and a time to speak,

Darby Translation
A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Easy-to-Read Version
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.

George Lamsa Translation
A time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

Good News Translation
the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk.

Lexham English Bible
a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

Literal Translation
a time to tear, and a time to sew together; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to cutt in peces, and a tyme to sowe together: A tyme to kepe sylece, and a tyme to speake:

American Standard Version
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

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

King James Version (1611)
A time to rent, and a time to sow: a time to keepe silence, and a time to speake.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to cut in peeces, and a tyme to sowe together: A tyme to kepe scilence, and a tyme to speake.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak;

English Revised Version
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme to kitte, and tyme to sewe togidere; tyme to be stille, and tyme to speke.

Update Bible Version
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak;

Webster's Bible Translation
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

New English Translation
A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

New King James Version
A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

New Living Translation
A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

New Life Bible
There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak.

New Revised Standard
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to rend, and a time to sew, - A time to be silent, and a time to speak;

Douay-Rheims Bible
A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

Revised Standard Version
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Young's Literal Translation
A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

Contextual Overview

¹ For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun. ² A time for birth and a time for death; a time for planting and a time for uprooting; ³ A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up; ⁴ A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing; ⁵ A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing; ⁶ A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away; ⁷ A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk; ⁸ A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace. ⁹ What profit has the worker in the work which he does? ¹⁰ I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

time to rend: Genesis 37:29, Genesis 37:34, 2 Samuel 1:11, 2 Samuel 3:31, 1 Kings 21:27, 2 Kings 5:7, 2 Kings 6:30, Jeremiah 36:24, Joel 2:13, Acts 9:39

time to keep: Job 2:13, Psalms 39:2, Isaiah 36:21, Jeremiah 8:14, Lamentations 3:28, Amos 5:13, Amos 8:3, Micah 7:5

and a time to speak: Genesis 44:18, Genesis 44:34, 1 Samuel 19:4, 1 Samuel 19:5, 1 Samuel 25:24-44, Esther 4:13, Esther 4:14, Esther 7:4, Job 32:4 - Job 37:24, Proverbs 24:11, Proverbs 24:12, Proverbs 31:8, Proverbs 31:9, Luke 19:37-40, Acts 4:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:7 - dust 2 Kings 2:5 - I know it Nehemiah 2:12 - neither Luke 9:36 - And they John 8:6 - as though

Cross-References

Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were without clothing, and they had no sense of shame.

Genesis 3:5
For God sees that on the day when you take of its fruit, your eyes will be open, and you will be as gods, having knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:10
And he said, Hearing your voice in the garden I was full of fear, because I was without clothing: and I kept myself from your eyes.

Genesis 3:11
And he said, Who gave you the knowledge that you were without clothing? Have you taken of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take?

Deuteronomy 28:34
So that the things which your eyes have to see will send you out of your minds.

2 Kings 6:20
And when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, let the eyes of these men be open so that they may see. And the Lord made their eyes open, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.

Isaiah 28:20
For the bed is not long enough for a man to be stretched out on: and the cover is not wide enough for him to be covered with.

Isaiah 59:6
Their twisted threads will not make clothing, and their works will give them nothing for covering themselves: their works are works of sin, and violent acts are in their hands.

Luke 16:23
And in hell, being in great pain, lifting up his eyes he saw Abraham, far away, and Lazarus on his breast.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A time to rend, and a time to sew,.... To rend garments, in case of blasphemy, and in times of mourning and fasting, and then to sew them up when they are over; see Isaiah 37:1; This the Jews apply to the rending of the ten tribes from Rehoboam, signified by the rending of Jeroboam's garment, 1 Kings 11:30; the sewing up or uniting of which is foretold, Ezekiel 37:22. Some interpret it of the rending of the Jewish church state, signified by the rending of the vail, at the death of Christ; and of the constituting the Gospel church state among the Gentiles;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak k; when it is an evil time, a time of calamity in a nation, it is not a time to be loquacious and talkative, especially in a vain and ludicrous way, Amos 5:13; or when a particular friend or relation is in distress, as in the case of Job and his friends, Job 2:13; or when in the presence of wicked men, who make a jest of everything serious and religious, Psalms 39:1; and so when under afflictive dispensations of Providence, it is a time to be still and dumb, and not open the mouth in a murmuring and complaining way, Leviticus 10:3. And, on the other hand, there is a time to speak, either publicly, of the truths of the Gospel, in the ministry of it, and in vindication of them; or privately, of Christian experience: there is a time when an open profession should be made of Christ, his word and ordinances, and when believers should speak to God in prayer and praise; which, should they not, the stones in the wall would cry out.

k ωρη μεν πολεων μυθων, ωρη δε και υπνου, Homer. Odyss. 11. v. 378.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rend - i. e., Tear garments in sign of mourning or anger. See 2 Samuel 1:2, 2 Samuel 1:11 ff.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:7. A time to rend, - sew, - keep silence, - speak —

_______________ "Intestine broils

And factions rend a state: at length the breach

Is heal'd, and rest ensues. Wisdom restrains

The tongue, when words are vain: but now,

'Tis time to speak, and silence would be criminal."