Ecclesiastes 8:6

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 3:1 : 1 A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:
  • Eccl 3:17 : 17 I thought to myself,“God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.
  • Eccl 7:13-14 : 13 Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent? 14 In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
  • Eccl 11:9-12:1 : 9 Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. 10 Banish emotional stress from your mind. and put away pain from your body; for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. 1 Fear God Now Because Old Age and Death Come Quickly So remember your Creator in the days of your youth– before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say,“I have no pleasure in them”;
  • Isa 3:11-14 : 11 Woe to the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve. 12 Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people’s leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions. 13 The LORD takes his position to judge; he stands up to pass sentence on his people. 14 The LORD comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says,“It is you who have ruined the vineyard! You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor.
  • Isa 22:12-14 : 12 At that time the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth. 13 But look, there is outright celebration! You say,“Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies told me this:“Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” says the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
  • Luke 13:25 : 25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him,‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you,‘I don’t know where you come from.’
  • Luke 17:26-30 : 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage– right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
  • Luke 19:42-44 : 42 saying,“If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will demolish you– you and your children within your walls– and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
  • Heb 3:7-9 : 7 Exposition of Psalm 95: Hearing God’s Word in Faith Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! 8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness. 9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years. 10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said,‘Their hearts are always wandering and they have not known my ways.’ 11 “As I swore in my anger,‘They will never enter my rest!’”
  • Eccl 3:11 : 11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 8:5
    80%

    5Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

  • Eccl 8:7
    79%

    7Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.

  • Eccl 3:1-2
    2 verses
    78%

    1A Time for All Events in Life For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth:

    2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;

  • Eccl 8:9
    78%

    9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

  • Eccl 3:16-18
    3 verses
    78%

    16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.

    17I thought to myself,“God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

    18I also thought to myself,“It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

  • Eccl 6:10-12
    3 verses
    76%

    10The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

    11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

    12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

  • Eccl 8:11
    75%

    11When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

  • Eccl 8:14-17
    4 verses
    75%

    14Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”

    15Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

    16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–

    17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

  • Eccl 3:8-12
    5 verses
    75%

    8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

    9Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?

    10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.

    11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

    12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,

  • Eccl 9:11-13
    3 verses
    75%

    11Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events Again, I observed this on the earth: the race is not always won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success always come to those with the most knowledge– for time and chance may overcome them all.

    12Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare– just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.

    13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

  • Eccl 11:8-9
    2 verses
    75%

    8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.

    9Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

  • Eccl 6:1
    74%

    1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:

  • Eccl 7:14-15
    2 verses
    74%

    14In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.

    15Exceptions to the Law of Retribution During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.

  • Eccl 3:6
    74%

    6A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

  • Eccl 9:3
    74%

    3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.

  • Eccl 3:22
    74%

    22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

  • Eccl 9:1
    74%

    1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.

  • Eccl 2:26
    73%

    26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Eccl 2:21-23
    3 verses
    73%

    21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

    22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

    23For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

  • Ps 39:6
    72%

    6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

  • Eccl 12:8
    72%

    8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”

  • Eccl 6:7-8
    2 verses
    72%

    7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!

    8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

  • Eccl 1:13
    72%

    13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

  • Eccl 2:17
    71%

    17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.

  • Job 7:1
    71%

    1The Brevity of Life“Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?

  • Eccl 1:18
    71%

    18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

  • Eccl 7:2
    71%

    2It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.

  • Eccl 12:14
    71%

    14For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

  • Eccl 2:19
    71%

    19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

  • Eccl 5:16
    71%

    16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

  • Job 3:20
    71%

    20Longing for Death“Why does God give light to one who is in misery, and life to those whose soul is bitter,