Ecclesiastes 3:3

Geneva Bible

A time to slay, and a time to heale: a time to breake downe, and a time to builde.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
a time to kill and a time to heal;a time to tear down and a time to build;

Hebrew Names Version
A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

King James Version
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

English Standard Version
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

New American Standard Bible
A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

New Century Version
There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to destroy and a time to build.

Amplified Bible
A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

World English Bible
A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

Legacy Standard Bible
A time to kill and a time to heal;A time to tear down and a time to build up.

Berean Standard Bible
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,

Contemporary English Version
for killing and healing, destroying and building,

Complete Jewish Bible
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

Darby Translation
A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;

Easy-to-Read Version
There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to destroy and a time to build.

George Lamsa Translation
A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up;

Good News Translation
the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building.

Lexham English Bible
a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up;

Literal Translation
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A tyme to slaye, and a tyme to make whole: A tyme to breake downe, and a tyme to buylde vp:

American Standard Version
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

Bible in Basic English
A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up;

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

King James Version (1611)
A time to kill, and a time to heale: a time to breake downe, and a time to build vp.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A tyme to slay, and a tyme to make whole: a tyme to breake downe, and a tyme to builde vp.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to pull down, and a time to build up;

English Revised Version
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Tyme to sle, and tyme to make hool; tyme to distrie, and tyme to bilde.

Update Bible Version
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

Webster's Bible Translation
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

New English Translation
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

New King James Version
A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

New Living Translation
A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

New Life Bible
There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.

New Revised Standard
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A time to kill, and a time to heal, - A time to break down, and a time to build up;

Douay-Rheims Bible
A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build.

Revised Standard Version
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

Young's Literal Translation
A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

Contextual Overview

¹ To all things there is an appointed time, and a time to euery purpose vnder the heauen. ² A time to bee borne, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to plucke vp that which is planted. ³ A time to slay, and a time to heale: a time to breake downe, and a time to builde. ⁴ A time to weepe, and a time to laugh: a time to mourne, and a time to dance. ⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones: a time to embrace, and a time to be farre from embracing. ⁶ A time to seeke, and a time to lose: a time to keepe, and a time to cast away. ⁷ A time to rent, and a time to sowe: a time to keepe silence, and a time to speake. ⁸ A time to loue, and a time to hate: a time of warre, and a time of peace. ⁹ What profite hath hee that worketh of the thing wherein he trauaileth? ¹⁰ I haue seene the trauaile that God hath giuen to ye sonnes of men to humble them thereby.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

time to kill: Deuteronomy 32:39, 1 Samuel 2:6, 1 Samuel 2:25, Hosea 6:1, Hosea 6:2

a time to heal: Numbers 26:6-9, Isaiah 38:5-20, Jeremiah 33:6, Luke 9:54-56, Acts 5:15, Acts 5:16

a time to break: Isaiah 5:5, Isaiah 5:6, Isaiah 44:26, Jeremiah 31:28, Jeremiah 45:4, Ezekiel 13:14, Daniel 9:25-27, Zechariah 1:12

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
Then the man saide, The woman which thou gauest to be with me, she gaue me of the tree, and I did eate.

Genesis 3:13
And the Lorde God saide to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.

Genesis 3:16
Vnto the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy sorowes, and thy conceptions. In sorowe shalt thou bring foorth children, and thy desire shalbe subiect to thine husbande, and he shall rule ouer thee.

Genesis 3:17
Also to Adam he said, Because thou hast obeyed the voyce of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, (whereof I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eate of it) cursed is the earth for thy sake: in sorowe shalt thou eate of it all the dayes of thy life.

Genesis 20:6
And God saide vnto him by a dreame, I knowe that thou diddest this euen with an vpright minde, and I kept thee also that thou shouldest not sinne against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touche her.

1 Chronicles 16:22
Touch not mine anoynted, and doe my Prophets no harme.

Job 1:11
But stretch out now thine hand & touch all that he hath, to see if he will not blaspheme thee to thy face.

Job 2:5
But stretch now out thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh, to see if he will not blaspheme thee to thy face.

Job 19:21
Haue pitie vpon me: haue pitie vpon me, (O yee my friendes) for the hande of God hath touched me.

1 Corinthians 7:1
Nowe concerning the thinges whereof ye wrote vnto mee, It were good for a man not to touche a woman.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A time to kill, and a time to heal,.... A time to kill may be meant of a violent death, as a time to die is of a natural one; so the Targum,

"a time to kill in war;''

or else, by the hand of the civil magistrate, such who deserve death. Aben Ezra interprets it "to wound", because of the opposite "to heal"; and so there is a time when wounds and diseases are incurable, and baffle all the skill of the physician, being designed unto death; and there is a time when, by the blessing of God on means, they are healed; the wound or sickness not being unto death: so the Targum paraphrases the last clause,

"to heal one that lies sick.''

This may be applied in a civil sense to calamities in kingdoms, and a restoration of peace and plenty to them; which is the property of God alone, who in this sense kills and makes alive in his own time,

Deuteronomy 32:39; And in a spiritual sense to the ministers of the word, who are instruments of slaying souls by the law, which is the killing letter, and of healing them by the Gospel, which pours in the oil and wine of peace and pardon through the blood of Christ, and so binds up and heals the broken hearted; and there is a time for both;

a time to break down, and a time to build up; to break down a building, and build a waste, as the Targum; to break down cities and the walls of them, as the of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; and to build them up: as in the times of Nehemiah and Zerubbabel: and so in a spiritual sense to break down the church of God, the tabernacle of David, and to raise up and repair the breaches of it; to build up Zion, and the walls of Jerusalem, or to restore the Gospel church state to its glory, for which there is a set time; see Amos 9:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:3. A time to kill, - heal, - break down, - build up —

"The healing art, when out of season used,

Pernicious proves, and serves to hasten death.

But timely medicines drooping nature raise,

And health restore. - Now, Justice wields her sword

With wholesome rigour, nor the offender spares:

But Mercy now is more expedient found.

On crazy fabrics ill-timed cost bestow'd

No purpose answers, when discretion bids

To pull them down, and wait a season fit

To build anew."