Ecclesiastes

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NASB	Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
AMPLIFIED 2015	Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

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Bible Question: Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, "The Message," treats this verse as follows:
"A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part."

I usually find his renderings very powerful, and when I find a strange one I usually find it actually reflects scholarship about the texts in question. In this case, however, I don't know what he's referring to.

Can anyone shed background on interpretations of this verse?

Bible Answer: Hello just read mark,

The ESV translates - "a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;"

The Commentary Critical says: "5. cast away stones—as out of a garden or vineyard (Is 5:2).
gather—for building; figuratively, the Gentiles, once castaway stones, were in due time made parts of the spiritual building (Eph 2:19, 20), and children of Abraham (Mt 3:9); so the restored Jews hereafter (Ps 102:13, 14; Zec 9:16).
refrain … embracing—(Joe 2:16; 1Co 7:5, 6)."

[Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory]

The Bible Knowledge Commentary is a bit more specific- "3:5-6. How the two opposites in verse 5 are related to each other and to those in verses 2-4 is uncertain. Many interpretations have been suggested for the meaning of the phrases a time to scatter (or “cast away,” kjv) stones and a time to gather them. Perhaps it is best to see them as referring to the gathering and rejecting of building materials. This relates these opposites both to the idea of building (v. 3) and to the thought of keeping and throwing away (v. 6).
Solomon then spoke of the display of affections (v. 5b), probably of a man to a woman and perhaps also of a woman to a man. He then wrote about searching for a thing or giving it up as lost and about keeping a thing or throwing it away (v. 6). All the opposites in verses 5-6 seem to involve man’s interest in things or affection for persons."

Hopefully this will help,

BradK