Ecclesiastes 8:6

6 There is a right time and a right way to do everything, but we know so little!

Ecclesiastes 8:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 8:6

Because to every purpose there is time and judgment
There is a fit season, and a right and proper manner of doing everything that is to be done; see ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ) ; which a wise man discerns; and which when a man hits upon, it prevents a great deal of mischief, which for want of it comes upon men, as the following clause shows; some refer this to the punishment of the wicked, and to a future judgment. So the Targum,

``to every business there is a time good and evil, and according to the judgment of truth the whole world is judged;''
and to the same purpose Jarchi,
``there is a time fixed for the visitation of the wicked, and there is judgment before the Lord; this is vengeance or punishment;''
therefore the misery of man [is] great upon him;
he not observing the right time and manner of doing what he ought, brings much trouble upon himself; his days are few and full trouble, and every day has a sufficiency of evil in because of the evil of sin, the evil of misery presses upon him, and is a heavy burden on him Jarchi's note is,
``when the wickedness of a man is great, then cometh his visitation.''

Ecclesiastes 8:6 In-Context

4 The king acts with authority, and no one can challenge what he does.
5 As long as you obey his commands, you are safe, and a wise person knows how and when to do it.
6 There is a right time and a right way to do everything, but we know so little!
7 None of us knows what is going to happen, and there is no one to tell us.
8 No one can keep from dying or put off the day of death. That is a battle we cannot escape; we cannot cheat our way out.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.