Ecclesiastes 3:8

Authorized King James Version

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A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Original Language Analysis

וְעֵ֥ת A time H6256
וְעֵ֥ת A time
Strong's: H6256
Word #: 1 of 8
time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc
לֶֽאֱהֹב֙ to love H157
לֶֽאֱהֹב֙ to love
Strong's: H157
Word #: 2 of 8
to have affection for (sexually or otherwise)
וְעֵ֥ת A time H6256
וְעֵ֥ת A time
Strong's: H6256
Word #: 3 of 8
time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc
לִשְׂנֹ֔א to hate H8130
לִשְׂנֹ֔א to hate
Strong's: H8130
Word #: 4 of 8
to hate (personally)
וְעֵ֥ת A time H6256
וְעֵ֥ת A time
Strong's: H6256
Word #: 5 of 8
time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc
מִלְחָמָ֖ה of war H4421
מִלְחָמָ֖ה of war
Strong's: H4421
Word #: 6 of 8
a battle (i.e., the engagement); generally, war (i.e., war-fare)
וְעֵ֥ת A time H6256
וְעֵ֥ת A time
Strong's: H6256
Word #: 7 of 8
time, especially (adverb with preposition) now, when, etc
שָׁלֽוֹם׃ of peace H7965
שָׁלֽוֹם׃ of peace
Strong's: H7965
Word #: 8 of 8
safe, i.e., (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e., health, prosperity, peace

Cross References

Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;Luke 14:26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.1 Kings 5:4But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.Revelation 2:2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:Psalms 139:21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?2 Chronicles 19:2And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.Ephesians 3:19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.Titus 2:4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,Ezekiel 16:8Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.Joshua 11:23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

Analysis & Commentary

The poem's final verse presents the most morally complex antitheses: 'a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.' These aren't contradicting biblical commands to love but acknowledging that love must sometimes express itself through opposition to evil. The Hebrew 'ahav' (אָהַב, love) and 'sane' (שָׂנֵא, hate) represent not mere emotions but covenantal commitments and moral judgments. God Himself both loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7; Proverbs 6:16-19). Similarly, 'war' (milchamah, מִלְחָמָה) and 'peace' (shalom, שָׁלוֹם) aren't arbitrary but responses to moral realities. True peace requires confronting injustice; righteous warfare defends the vulnerable and establishes conditions for flourishing. This verse doesn't endorse vindictive hatred or unjust warfare but recognizes that in a fallen world, love sometimes requires strong opposition to evil, and peace sometimes requires just conflict to establish justice. It anticipates Jesus's teaching that loving enemies doesn't mean tolerance of evil but redemptive engagement even with opponents.

Historical Context

Israel's history involved both divinely commanded warfare (Exodus 17:8-16; Deuteronomy 20) and prophetic visions of universal peace (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). The tension between these shaped Jewish theology. Ancient Near Eastern warfare was brutal, yet Scripture regulated it with ethical constraints foreign to pagan cultures (Deuteronomy 20:10-20). The concept of 'holy war' (herem) demonstrated that warfare could serve God's redemptive purposes. The New Testament transformed this: Christ's kingdom advances through spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12), not physical. Yet even Jesus demonstrated 'righteous anger' cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-17) and pronounced woes on hypocrites (Matthew 23). Church history wrestled with just war theory (Augustine, Aquinas) versus pacifism. Modern readers must apply this by hating sin while loving sinners, pursuing peace while confronting injustice, and recognizing that temporal conflicts anticipate the final war and ultimate peace of Revelation.

Questions for Reflection