Ecclesiastes 8:5

Whoever obeys his ¹  command will not experience harm, and a wise person ²  knows the proper time ³  and procedure.

Ex 1:17,20,21; 1Ch 12:32; Ps 119:6; Pr 17:24; Ec 2:14; Ec 8:2; Ec 10:2; Ho 5:11; Lu 12:56,57; Lu 20:25; Ac 4:19; Ac 5:29; Ro 13:5-7; 1Co 2:14,15; Php 1:9,10; Col 1:9; Heb 5:14; 1Pe 3:13,14

¹ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

² tn Heb “the heart of a wise man.”

³ tn The term עֵת (’et, “time”) connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event; the right moment” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b); e.g., “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27).