Overview
The Bible addresses time across 82 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Genesis, Jeremiah and Daniel. Closely related themes include Years, God, Months and Night. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Abraham, Saul, Solomon and Noah.
Key Bible verses about time
Old Testament
Genesis
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: the day: Heb. between the day and between the night
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. windows: or, floodgates
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. continually: Heb. in going and returning
And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. perfect: or, upright, or, sincere
Exodus
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
Numbers
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month.
1 Samuel
And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, reigned one: Heb. the son of one year in his reigning
1 Kings
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. began: Heb. built
And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
2 Kings
And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. dial: Heb. degrees
Esther
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. present: Heb. found
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
Job
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. let it not be: or, let it not rejoice among the days
Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: whose: Heb. a flood was poured upon their foundation
He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. until: Heb. until the end of light with darkness
Psalms
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
Ecclesiastes
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Isaiah
Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. sun dial: Heb. degrees by, or, with the sun
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; establish: or, raise up
Jeremiah
To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. fatted: Heb. bullocks of the stall
Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
Ezekiel
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. captives: Heb. captivity
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.
Daniel
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. full: Heb. weeks of days
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. a time: or, part
New Testament
Mark
And saying The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
Luke
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, tetrarch: or, governor of four provinces
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Give us day by day our daily bread. day by day: or, for the day
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Acts
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Ephesians
Hebrews
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. ordinances: or, rites, or, ceremonies
Revelation
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
People in the Bible and time
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying time for yourself
- Begin with Genesis 1:1, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Genesis, Jeremiah and Daniel each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of Abraham, Saul and Solomon and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Years, God, Months and Night.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about time?
The Bible addresses time across 82 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Genesis, Jeremiah and Daniel. Closely related themes include Years, God, Months and Night. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Abraham, Saul, Solomon and Noah.
How many Bible verses are about time?
The Bible references time in 82 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention time?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with time?
Abraham, Saul, Solomon, Noah and Moses.
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