Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 8:6
For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses readers navigating earthly authority, placing this statement between the promise of safety for the obedient (Ecclesiastes 8:5) and the declaration that no one knows what will happen (Ecclesiastes 8:7).
The words — עֵת ('et) denotes the appointed time, while מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) refers to the established custom or procedure that governs each matter (חֵפֶץ, cheftetz).
The thread — This pattern of ordered timing appears in Ecclesiastes 3:1, which states there is a season for every purpose under heaven, and Ecclesiastes 3:17, which links this timing to God’s judgment of the righteous and the wicked.
Why it lands — The text states that every purpose has its proper time and procedure, yet notes that a man’s misery still weighs heavily upon him, demanding the reader to observe discernment while accepting that suffering is not eliminated by knowledge.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
- Luke 19:42 and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
- Luke 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Luke 13:25 After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’