Ecclesiastes 3:6 (GNV)

Passage

A time to seeke, and a time to lose: a time to keepe, and a time to cast away.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weepe, and a time to laugh: a time to mourne, and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones: a time to embrace, and a time to be farre from embracing.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 A time to seeke, and a time to lose: a time to keepe, and a time to cast away.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 A time to rent, and a time to sowe: a time to keepe silence, and a time to speake.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to loue, and a time to hate: a time of warre, and a time of peace.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "seeke", "lose", "keepe", and "cast". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "seeke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "A time to cast away stones and..." into verse 7's "A time to rent and a time...", so "time" and "seeke" 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 "seeke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.