Text -- Ecclesiastes 8:5 (NET)

8:5 Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Ecc 8:5

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).