Ecclesiastes 3:8

THE MESSAGE

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 Life Bible
There is 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's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: ²A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace. ⁹But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I've had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he's left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he's coming or going. I've decided that there's nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That's it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It's God's gift.

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
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"

Genesis 3:2
The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"

Genesis 3:9
God called to the Man: "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."

Genesis 3:12
The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it." God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"

Genesis 3:21
God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.

Genesis 3:22
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"

Deuteronomy 5:25
Moses Teaches Israel on the Plains of Moab Moses called all Israel together. He said to them, Attention, Israel. Listen obediently to the rules and regulations I am delivering to your listening ears today. Learn them. Live them. God , our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. God didn't just make this covenant with our parents; he made it also with us, with all of us who are alive right now. God spoke to you personally out of the fire on the mountain. At the time I stood between God and you, to tell you what God said. You were afraid, remember, of the fire and wouldn't climb the mountain. He said: I am God , your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of slaves. No other gods, only me. No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God. I hold parents responsible for any sins they pass on to their children to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation. But I'm lovingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments. No using the name of God , your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name. No working on the Sabbath; keep it holy just as God , your God, commanded you. Work six days, doing everything you have to do, but the seventh day is a Sabbath, a Rest Day—no work: not you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, your ox, your donkey (or any of your animals), and not even the foreigner visiting your town. That way your servants and maids will get the same rest as you. Don't ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt and God , your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That's why God , your God, commands you to observe the day of Sabbath rest. Respect your father and mother— God , your God, commands it! You'll have a long life; the land that God is giving you will treat you well. No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No lies about your neighbor. No coveting your neighbor's wife. And no lusting for his house, field, servant, maid, ox, or donkey either—nothing that belongs to your neighbor! These are the words that God spoke to the whole congregation at the mountain. He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words. Then he wrote them on two slabs of stone and gave them to me. As it turned out, when you heard the Voice out of that dark cloud and saw the mountain on fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, and said, "Our God has revealed to us his glory and greatness. We've heard him speak from the fire today! We've seen that God can speak to humans and they can still live. But why risk it further? This huge fire will devour us if we stay around any longer. If we hear God 's voice anymore, we'll die for sure. Has anyone ever known of anyone who has heard the Voice of God the way we have and lived to tell the story? "From now on, you go and listen to what God , our God, says and then tell us what God tells you. We'll listen and we'll do it." God heard what you said to me and told me, "I've heard what the people said to you. They're right—good and true words. What I wouldn't give if they'd always feel this way, continuing to revere me and always keep all my commands; they'd have a good life forever, they and their children! "Go ahead and tell them to go home to their tents. But you, you stay here with me so I can tell you every commandment and all the rules and regulations that you must teach them so they'll know how to live in the land that I'm giving them as their own." So be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don't veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you'll have a good life and live a long time in the land that you're about to possess.

Job 38:1
And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:

Proverbs 15:3
God doesn't miss a thing— he's alert to good and evil alike.

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.