Ecclesiastes 3:7 (DRB)

Passage

A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What hath man more of his labour?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "rend", "keep", "silence", and "speak". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "rend", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "A time to get and a time..." into verse 8's "A time of love and a time...", so "time" and "rend" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "time" and "rend" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.