Ecclesiastes 8:6For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
The setting
Jerusalem, ~935 BC. The wisest man who ever lived sits in his palace, surrounded by wealth but crushed by the weight of existence...
The emotion here: weighed down by the burden of human existence
The original word
ra'ah (רָעָה) — misery, evil, the crushing weight of broken existence
Why it matters
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, yet wrote about life's emptiness
Read with care
What most readers miss in Ecclesiastes 8:6
Solomon sees divine timing AND human suffering as simultaneous realities
Common misconceptionPeople skip the second half about misery and only quote the timing part. Solomon isn't being optimistic here - he's acknowledging that even though God has perfect timing, life is still crushingly hard.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Ecclesiastes 8:6
Bible Genome reading
Ecclesiastes 8:6 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Ecclesiastes 8:6 comes from the book of Ecclesiastes, written during the United Kingdom period. The setting is a royal palace. These words are attributed to Solomon. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the wisdom genre of biblical literature. Key themes include timing, suffering. Notable phrases: time and procedure; misery of man.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same anxious
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12
“The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"”
— Acts 19:15
“I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'”
— Acts 22:7
“When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is har…”
— Acts 26:14
Your reflection
What does Ecclesiastes 8:6 mean to you, today?
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