Ecclesiastes8
World English Bible · Public Domain
1Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
3Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
4for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.
6For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
7For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
8There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
9All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
10So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
14There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night),
17then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ecclesiastes 8.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Commendations of wisdom. (1-5). To prepare for sudden evils and death. (6-8). It shall be well with the righteous, and ill with the wicked. (9-13). Mysteries of Providence. (14-17).
vv1-5
None of the rich, the powerful, the honourable, or the accomplished of the sons of men, are so excellent, useful, or happy, as the wise man. Who else can interpret the words of God, or teach aright from his truths and dispensations? What madness must it be for weak and dependent creatures to rebel against the Almighty! What numbers form wrong judgments, and bring misery on themselves, in this life and that to come!
vv6-8
God has, in wisdom, kept away from us the knowledge of future events, that we may be always ready for changes. We must all die, no flight or hiding-place can save us, nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance. Ninety thousand die every day, upwards of sixty every minute, and one every moment. How solemn the thought! Oh that men were wise, that they understood these things, that they would consider their latter end! The believer alone is prepared to meet the solemn summons. Wickedness, by which men often escape human justice, cannot secure from death.
vv9-13
Solomon observed, that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt, and that prosperity hardens them in their wickedness. Sinners herein deceive themselves. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely. A good man's days have some substance; he lives to a good purpose: a wicked man's days are all as a shadow, empty and worthless. Let us pray that we may view eternal things as near, real, and all-important.
Key Words
מִי: who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also (indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix
חָכָם: wise, (i.e. intelligent, skilful or artful)
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
פֵּשֶׁר: {an interpretation}
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
חׇכְמָה: wisdom (in a good sense)
פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
אוֹר: to be (causative, make) luminous (literally and metaphorically)
עֹז: strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise)
Cross References
Ecclesiastes 8Communion with God and true wisdom cause a man's face to shine, typified by Moses descending Sinai.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
An oath of allegiance or covenant made before God to submit to the sovereign authority.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The solemnity of the king's oath of covenant, sworn by God, which cannot be broken without penalty.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Keeping the authority's command not only for wrath, but for conscience sake in regard of God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The supreme power of a ruler's word, where none can demand of him, 'What doest thou?'
Supported by JFB
The wise man discerns that there is a proper time and judgment for every purpose.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Wickedness and false covenants with death cannot deliver or protect those given to it.
Supported by JFB
God's delayed execution of sentence is meant for repentance, but wicked men abuse it to harden hearts.
Supported by JFB
Wicked rulers are soon forgotten in the city, contrasting with the blessed memory of the just.
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Joab coming to and going from the altar illustrates wicked men seeking shelter in the holy place.
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The pompous burial of the wicked rich man forms an awful contrast to his eternal state.
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Because they experience no changes or sudden judgments, the wicked do not fear God.
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Lawful military exemptions exist under Moses, but there is no discharge in the war of death.
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Recommending joyful, sober enjoyment of food and labor as gifts from God under the sun.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The unsearchable depth of God's judgments and ways, which man cannot fully find out.
Supported by Matthew Henry