Ecclesiastes 8 commentary

ECCLESIASTES 8 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1 Who is like the wise man?
Who knows the explanation of things?
Wisdom brightens a man's face
and changes its hard appearance.
BAR ES, "And who - Rather, and as he who knoweth. The possessor of wisdom
excels other people: it imparts serenity to his countenance, and removes the expression
of gloom or fierceness (see the marginal reference).
CLARK, "Who knoweth the interpretation - ‫פשר‬ pesher, a pure Chaldee word,
found nowhere else in the Bible but in the Chaldee parts of Daniel. “A man’s wisdom
maketh his face to shine.” Every state of the heart shines through the countenance; but
there is such an evidence of the contented, happy, pure, benevolent state of the soul in
the face of a truly pious man, that it must be observed, and cannot be mistaken. In the
Hebrew the former clause of this verse ends the preceding chapter. Who has ever been
deceived in the appearance of the face that belonged to a savage heart? Those who
represent, by painting or otherwise, a wise man, with a gravely sour face, striking awe
and forbidding approach, have either mistaken the man, or are unacquainted with some
essential principles of their art.
The boldness of his face shall be changed - Instead of ‫ישנא‬ yeshunne, which
signifies shall be hated, many of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. have ‫ישנה‬ yeshunneh,
shall be changed or doubled. Hence the verse might be read, “The wisdom of a man shall
illuminate his face; and the strength of his countenance shall be doubled.” He shall
speak with full confidence and conviction on a subject which he perfectly understands,
and all will feel the weight of his observations.
GILL, "Who is as the wise man?.... Who is as the first man, that was made upright,
and was a wise man? not one of his sons. Or who is as the wise man, meaning himself?
no man; he was the wisest of men; and yet he could not find out wisdom, and the reason
of things, and the wickedness of folly, Ecc_7:25; how therefore should any other man?
what can the man do that comes after the king? Or who is like to a wise man, to he
compared to him for honour and dignity? none; not those of the highest birth and blood,
of the greatest wealth and riches, or in the highest places of power and authority; a wise
man is above them, they being without wisdom; and especially such as are wise to

salvation; these are the excellent in the earth, and the most worthy among men. Or who
is a truly wise man? is there really such a person in the world, that has got to the
perfection of wisdom? not one; and very few they are that can, in a true and proper
sense, be called wise men. The Targum is,
"who is a wise man, that can stand against the wisdom of the Lord?''
and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? or "a word" (q)? the word of God,
which is not of private interpretation? none know it rightly, but such who have the Spirit
of God, the enditer of the word: Christ is the interpreter, one among a thousand; and,
next to him are those who have his mind, and rightly divide the word of truth. The
Targum is,
"and to know the interpretation of the words in the prophets:''
this may be understood of the solution of any difficulties in things natural or civil; and of
the interpretation of any of the works of God, either in nature or providence, as well as of
his word; and he is a wise man, that not only has wisdom in himself, but is able to teach
others, and make them wise; can solve doubts, remove difficulties, interpret nature, the
works and word of God. Aben Ezra repeats the note of similitude from the former clause,
and so it may be rendered, "Who is as he that knows the interpretation of a thing", or
"word?" such an one as Solomon was, Pro_1:6;
a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine: as Moses, when he came down from the
mount, full fraught with the knowledge of the will of God, Exo_34:29; and as Stephen,
whose wisdom and spirit, by which he spoke, were irresistible, Act_6:10; wisdom, which
discovers itself in a man's words and actions, gives comeliness to his person, makes him
look amiable and lovely in the eyes of others: or, it "enlightens his face" (r); by it he is
able to see the difference between truth and falsehood, and what is to be done and not
done; what way he should walk in, and what he should shun and avoid;
and the boldness of his face shall be changed; the ferocity and austerity of his
countenance, the impudence and inhumanity that appeared in him before, through his
wisdom and knowledge, are changed into meekness, gentleness, and humanity; of an
impudent, fierce, and badly behaved man, he becomes meek, modest, affable, and
humane; this effect natural wisdom and knowledge has on men (s); and much more
spiritual and evangelical wisdom, which comes from above, and is first pure, then
peaceable and gentle, Jam_3:17. Some read it, "the strength of his face shall be
doubled", or "renewed" (t); he shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory;
his spiritual strength shall be renewed, and his light and knowledge increase yet more
and more, 2Co_3:18. But Gussetius (u) renders it, his "boldness", or impudence, "shall
be hated".
HE RY, "Here is, I. An encomium of wisdom (Ecc_8:1), that is, of true piety, guided in
all its exercises by prudence and discretion. The wise man is the good man, that knows
God and glorifies him, knows himself and does well for himself; his wisdom is a great
happiness to him, for, 1. It advances him above his neighbours, and makes him more
excellent than they: Who is as the wise man? Note, Heavenly wisdom will make a man
an incomparable man. No man without grace, though he be learned, or noble, or rich, is
to be compared with a man that has true grace and is therefore accepted of God. 2. It

makes him useful among his neighbours and very serviceable to them: Who but the wise
man knows the interpretation of a thing, that is, understands the times and the events
of them, and their critical junctures, so as to direct what Israel ought to do, 1Ch_12:32.
3. It beautifies a man in the eyes of his friends: It makes his face to shine, as Moses's did
when he came down from the mount; it puts honour upon a man and a lustre on his
whole conversation, makes him to be regarded and taken notice of, and gains him
respect (as Job_29:7, etc.); it makes him lovely and amiable, and the darling and
blessing of his country. The strength of his face, the sourness and severity of his
countenance (so some understand the last clause), shall be changed by it into that which
is sweet and obliging. Even those whose natural temper is rough and morose by wisdom
are strangely altered; they become mild and gentle, and learn to look pleasant. 4. It
emboldens a man against his adversaries, their attempts and their scorn: The boldness of
his face shall be doubled by wisdom; it will add very much to his courage in maintaining
his integrity when he not only has an honest cause to plead, but by his wisdom knows
how to manage it and where to find the interpretation of a thing. He shall not be
ashamed, but shall speak with his enemy in the gate.
JAMISO , "Praise of true wisdom continued (Ecc_7:11, etc.). “Who” is to be
accounted “equal to the wise man? ... Who (like him) knoweth the interpretation” of
God’s providences (for example, Ecc_7:8, Ecc_7:13, Ecc_7:14), and God’s word (for
example, see on Ecc_7:29; Pro_1:6)?
face to shine — (Ecc_7:14; Act_6:15). A sunny countenance, the reflection of a
tranquil conscience and serene mind. Communion with God gives it (Exo_34:29, Exo_
34:30).
boldness — austerity.
changed — into a benign expression by true wisdom (religion) (Jam_3:17). Maurer
translates, “The shining (brightness) of his face is doubled,” arguing that the Hebrew
noun for “boldness” is never used in a bad sense (Pro_4:18). Or as Margin, “strength”
(Ecc_7:19; Isa_40:31; 2Co_3:18). But the adjective is used in a bad sense (Deu_28:50).
ISBET, "THE SECRET OF THE SHI I G FACE
‘Wisdom maketh his face to shine.’
Ecc_8:1
‘A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness or coarseness of his face
shall be changed.’
I. In ancient days it was OTED that piety has an effect on the countenance.—It
brings refinement. It is a remarkable fact that wherever the Bible is read, wherever
the Gospel is preached, those who come under its influence find the coarseness of
their faces changed. They are raised in thought and feeling to a higher sphere, and
that has an effect on their countenances. It is a grand thing to see the effect of
conversion on a dull-faced, heavy-eyed, bloated-visaged public-house sot. It is as
though a veil were lifted. There comes a new light in the eye, a new expression on

the countenance, that leads others to take knowledge of him that he has been with
Jesus. When, by Divine grace, the humblest soul gains the true wisdom, and visits
the mount of communion with God, the great Father of lights maketh his face to
shine, and the coarseness of his visage is changed.
II. So remarkable is this, that the inquiry has been made whether after all, the
shining of the face of Moses after communion with God was merely miraculous, but
rather the true effect of close intercourse with the God of light; and whether the
angelic expression of Stephen was not also the true effect of his elevated spirit.
Perhaps so. This we know, that there are to-day holy souls who sometimes carry on
their countenances a light of their having been ‘within the veil,’ very near in
communion with their Lord.
YOU G, "Solomon seems to speak of the man who is truly wise —
pious. This appears from what follows. He knows the
interpretation of a thing — of a word or treatise — of the
Scriptures, (perhaps.) "But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolish-
ness to him : neither can he know them, because they are
.spiritually discerned." The wise man knoweth of the
doctrine, because he doeth the will of God. The babe in
human knowledge, who drinks in the spirit of God's word,
often has more correct views than " the wise and prudent"
from whom the meaning is hidden.
" A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the
boldness of his face shall be changed." Moses' face
shone miraculously, when he communed with God. Ste-
phen's face was hke that of an angel. When God's chil-
dren commune with him, their very countenances betray
it. And pious men lose the traces of dissipation, anger,
hatred, and shame, which formerly appeared on their faces.
The Lord beautifies the meek with salvation. Ps. cxlix. 4.
Hope beams in the eye ; — benevolence lights up the face
with smiles. Bridges says of godliness, " If it be too
humble to court the eye, it is too active to escape it."

By the " boldness of his face," we are to understand
fierceness, as it is in the original. There is certainly a
great and marked difference between the fierce counte-
nance of a savage, and the benevolent face of a Christian.
Religion mollifies the whole man. The Berleburger
Bible, as quoted by Hengstenberg, says, " When, through
the transforming power of wisdom, a heart of flesh has
taken the place of the heart of stone, the inward pliancy
and docility, the soul's fear of God and his commands,
which then follow, become discernible in the countenance.''^
PULPIT, "Who is as the wise man? i.e. Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The
somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for
wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hos_14:9
and Jer_9:12, "Who is wise?" but— o one Call be compared with a wise man; he
has no compeer. And who [like him] knoweth the interpretation of a thing? Who, so
well as the wise man, understands the proper relation of circumstances, sees into
human affairs and God's dispensations in the case of nations and individuals? Such
a one takes the right view of life. The word pesher, "interpretation," occurs (peshar)
CO TI UALLYin Daniel, and nowhere else and is Chaldaic. The Vulgate, which
connects these two clauses with Ecc_7:1-29; renders, Quis cognovit solutionem
verbi? So the Septuagint. The "word" or "saying" may be the question proposed
above Concerning the happy life, or the proverb that immediately follows. But
dabar is better rendered "thing," as Ecc_1:8; Ecc_7:8. A man's wisdom maketh his
face to shine; Septuagint, φωτιεῖ , "will enlighten, illuminate." The serene light
within makes itself visible in the outward expression; the man is contented arid
cheerful, and shows this in his look and bearing. This is an additional praise of
wisdom. Thus Ecclesiasticus 13:25, 26, "The heart of man changeth his
countenance, whether it be for good or evil. A cheerful countenance is a token of a
heart that is in prosperity." Cicero, 'De Orat.,' 3:57, "Omnes enim motus animi
suum quemdam a natura habet vultum et sonum et gestum; corpusque totum
homiuis et ejus omnis vultus omnesque voces, ut nervi in fidibus, ita sonant, ut motu
animi quoque sunt pulsae." And the boldness of his face shall be changed. The word
translated "boldness" is òÉæ , which means properly "strength," and is best taken
of the coarseness and impudence engendered by ignorance and want of culture.
Wisdom, when it fills the heart, changes the countenance to an open genial look,
which wins confidence and love. Delitzsch refers to the well-worn lines of Ovid,
'Epist.,' 2.9. 47—
"Adde, quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes
Emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros."

The Septuagint, "And a man shameless in countenance will be hated," shows an
alteration in the text, and does not agree with the context. Vulgate, Et potentissimus
faciem illius commutabit, "And the Almighty will change his face," where again the
text is not accurately followed.
PULPIT, "A wise man's superiority-in what does it consist?
I. I PE ETRATIO OF I TELLECT. He knoweth not merely things, but the
interpretation thereof. Among the Chaldeans the interpretation of dreams was a
special branch of wisdom professed by magicians and astrologers (Dan_2:4-13). A
wise man—using the term in its widest sense—has clearer insight than ordinary
mortals into the essences of things. To him pertains the faculty of searching into and
discovering the causes of events. In particular he has insight into:
1. The secrets of nature. He is qualified to understand and explain phenomena
which to ordinary minds are mysterious and inscrutable.
2. The events of history. He is able frequently to trace the under-currents moving
society, and bringing about occurrences which to common minds are inexplicable.
3. The wonders of revelation. He can discover in sacred Scripture truths veiled to
unenlightened eyes.
4. The mysteries of grace. Possessed of an unction from the Holy One, he can
understand all things (1Jn_2:20, 1Jn_2:27).
II. I ELEVATIO OF CHARACTER. "A man's wisdom maketh his face to
shine." "It scarcely needs a proof that the countenance or front of the head is
regarded in Scripture as the mirror of Divine influences upon the man—of all
affections, and of the entire life of soul and spirit." "In the physiognomy is reflected
the moral condition of the man". "Many a poet, and seer, and martyr, and
reformer, and woman of the finest fiber has at times had a face that has looked like
porcelain with a light behind it". The wise man's face shines because of three things:
1. The light of truth in his understanding. The wise man is essentially a child of
light. A luminous intellect makes a radiant countenance.
2. The light of purity in his heart. There are faces which glow and beam with a soft
silver sheen, as it' they had shed off all that was gross and material, animal and
brutish, and were spiritualized into a fine ethereal essence; because they reflect
upon their surface the pure, sweet, chaste, and holy emotions that stir the clear
depths of their bosoms within.
3. The light of life in his conscience. In the wise man the moral faculty is not dead,
torpid, dull, and besotted; but alive, bright, sensitive, and vigorous; and WHAT
COOK calls the solar look in a face "arises from the activity of the higher nature
when conscience is supreme".

III. I REFI EME T OF MA ERS. "The hardness," or strength, "of a wise
man's face is changed." "The coarse ferocity of ignorance" is in him "transformed
by culture" (Plumptre). What Ovid says of human learning—it.
"Makes manners gentle, rescues men from strife"—
is true of heavenly wisdom, which is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to
be entreated," etc. (Jas_3:17). "Wisdom gives to a man bright eyes, a gentle
countenance, a noble expression; it refines and dignifies his external appearance
and his demeanor; the hitherto rude external, and the rude regardless, selfish, and
bold deportment, are changed into their contraries" (Delitzsch). The change may
be:
1. Gradual, as all moral transformations are SLOW, "from stage to stage," "first
the blade and then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear;" but it must be:
2. Actual, otherwise there is no reason to suppose the individual has become
possessed of wisdom; and it will eventually be:
3. Visible to all, so that all beholding him shall recognize in him the gentleness of one
who has studied in wisdom's school. Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge (Col_2:3), was the highest impersonation the world ever
witnessed of true gentleness and refinement.
COFFMAN 1-5, "OBEDIENCE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF WISDOMEcclesiastes 8:1-
5, by Cook in Barnes' NOTES on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
a 1989 reprint of the 1878 edition), Ecclesiastes, p. 104.">[1]
Ecclesiastes 8:1-5
"Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's
wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I counsel thee,
Keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of
his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. For the
king's word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth
the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and
judgment."
A comparison of translations will reveal some uncertainties about what is actually said
here. Cook's opinion that obedience to the king is the subject appears to be correct; and
we know that this would be exactly what a king like Solomon would advise. As a matter
of fact, respect for all legitimate authority is the foundation of all law, civilization and
social order. It begins with respect for the authority of parents and teachers and
CONTINUES as mandatory for all authority, as Paul himself pointed out in Romans 13.
Waddey AGREED that, "The first five verses here admonish us to be submissive to
governmental authority."[2]

"A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). "The claim here is that
wisdom gives insight and charm."[3] "A man's wisdom illumines him and causes his
stern face to shine,"[4] It is not exactly clear why this has anything to do with the
paragraph. Cox's comment was that, "Culture lends an air of refinement to the face, and
that it improves the carriage, demeanor and personality of the possessor."[5] Delitzsch
said, "This verse announces and verifies the incomparable superiority of the wise
man."[6]
"Keep the king's command ... in regard to the oath of God." (Ecclesiastes 8:2). "This is a
religious duty, corresponding to Romans 13:5."[7]
"Be not hasty to go out of his presence" (Ecclesiastes 8:3). This might mean a number of
things: "(1) do not desert the king in time of danger; (2) do not resign YOUR office in
haste when things go wrong; (3) don't storm out of his presence in anger when you are not
pleased; or, (4) don't seek to flee the country as a defector."[8] The student may take his
choice!
"For he doeth whatever pleaseth him" (Ecclesiastes 8:3). Delitzsch TRANSLATED this:
"The king executes anyone he pleases to execute."[9]
"Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing" (Ecclesiastes 8:5). This
should be understood in the light of many other Old Testament passages which place
definite boundaries upon the obedience that any servant of God should give to the evil
commandments of earthly rulers. The three Hebrew children refused to worship
Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, and Daniel CONTINUED to pray to Almighty God, in
spite of the specific orders of the mightiest king of antiquity that forbade their actions.
The strong suggestion in these verses to the effect that a `wise man' might, through
expediency, conform his views to that of some evil ruler cannot negate the truth. "If a
man is really wise, he will know that the king's action or commandment is liable to
correction, if it is wrong, in God's time and by God's judgment."
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine and the
boldness of his face shall be changed.
The human face
In all the works of God there is nothing more wonderful than the human countenance.
The face is ordinarily the index of character. It is the throne of the emotions, the
battlefield of the passions. It is the catalogue of character, the map of the mind, the
geography of the soul. Whether we will or not, physiognomy decides a thousand things
in commercial, and financial, and social, and religious domains. From one lid of the
Bible to the other there is no science so recognized as that of physiognomy, and nothing
more thoroughly taken for granted than the power of the soul to transfigure the face. The
Bible speaks of the “face of God,” the “face of Jesus Christ,” the “face of Esau,” the “face
of Israel,” the “face of Job,” the “face of the old man,” the shining “face of Moses,” the
wrathful “face of Pharaoh,” the ashes on the face of humiliation, the resurrectionary staff
on the face of the dead child, the hypocrites disfiguring their face, and in my text the
Bible declares, “A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine and the sourness of his face

shall be sweetened.” And now I am going to tell you of some of the chisels that work for
the disfiguration or irradiation of the human countenance. One of the sharpest and most
destructive of those chisels of the countenance is—
I. Cynicism. That sours the disposition and then sours the face. It gives a contemptuous
curl to the lip. It draws down the corners of the mouth and inflates the nostril as with a
mal-odour. It is the chastisement of God that when a man allows his heart to be cursed
with cynicism his face becomes gloomed, and scowled, and lachrymosod, and blasted
with the same midnight.
II. But let Christian cheerfulness try its chisel upon a man’s countenance. Feeling that all
things are for his good, and that God rules, and that the Bible being true the world’s
floralization is rapidly approaching, and the day when distillery, and bomb-shell, and
rifle-pit, and seventy-four pounders, and roulette-tables, and corrupt book, and satanic
printing press will have quit work, the brightness that comes from such anticipation not
only gives zest to his work, but shines in his eyes and glows in his cheek, and kindles a
morning in his entire countenance. The grace of God comes to the heart of a man or
woman and then attempts to change a forbidding and prejudicial face into
attractiveness. Perhaps the face is most unpromising for the Divine Sculptor. But having
changed the heart it begins to work on the countenance with celestial chisel, and into all
the lineaments of the face puts a gladness and an expectation that changes it from glory
to glory, and though earthly criticism may disapprove of this or that in the appearance of
the face, Christ says of the newly-created countenance that which Pilate said of Him,
“Behold the man!”
III. Here is another mighty chisel for the countenance, and you may call it revenge, or
hate, or malevolence. This spirit having taken possession of the heart it encamps seven
devils under the eyebrows. It puts cruelty into the compression of the lips. You can tell
from the man’s looks that he is pursuing some one and trying to get even with him.
There are suggestions of Nero, and Robespierre, and Diocletian, and thumbscrews, and
racks all up and down the features. Infernal artists with murderers’ daggers have been
cutting away at that visage. The revengeful heart has built its perdition in the revengeful
countenance. Disfiguration of diabolic passion!
IV. But here comes another chisel to shape the countenance, and it is kindness. There
came a moving day, and into her soul moved the whole family of Christian graces, with
all the children and grandchildren, and the command has come forth from the heavens
that that woman’s face shall be made to correspond with her superb soul. Her entire face
from ear to ear becomes the canvas on which all the best artists of heaven begin to put
their finest strokes, and on the small compass of that face are put pictures of sunrise
over the sea, and angels of mercy going up and down ladders all a-flash, and mountains
of transfiguration and noon-day in heaven. Kindness! It is the most magnificent sculptor
that over touched human countenance. It makes the face to shine while life lasts, and
after death puts a summer sunset between the still lips and the smoothed hair that
makes me say sometimes at obsequies, “She seems too beautiful to bury.”
V. But here comes another chisel, and its name is hypocrisy. Christ with one terrific
stroke in his Sermon on the Mount described this character: “When ye fast be not as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto
men to fast.” Hypocrisy having taken possession of the soul it immediately appears in
the countenance. Hypocrites are always solemn. They carry several country graveyards
in their faces. They are tearful when there is nothing to cry about. A man cannot have
hypocrisy in his heart without somehow showing it in his face. All intelligent people who

witness it know it is nothing but a dramatization.
VII. Here comes another chisel, and that belongs to the old-fashioned religion. It first
takes possession of the whole soul, washing out its sins by the blood of the Lamb and
starting heaven right there and then. This is done deep down in the heart. Religion says,
“Now let me go up to the windows and front gate of the face and set up some signal that I
have taken possession of this castle. I will celebrate the victory by an illumination that no
one can mistake. I have made this man happy, and now I will make him look happy. I
will draw the corners of his mouth as far up as they were drawn down. I will take the
contemptuous curl away from the lip and nostril. I will make his eyes flash and his
cheeks glow at every mention of Christ and heaven. I will make even the wrinkles of his
face lock like furrows ploughed for the harvests of joy. I will make what we call the
‘crow’s feet’ around his temples suggestive that the dove of peace has been alighting
there.” There may be signs of trouble on that face, but trouble sanctified. There may be
scars of battle on that face, but they will be scars of campaigns won. (T. De Witt
Talmage.)
Gospel of the shining face
(with Mat_17:2):—Note the variation of the Douay version: “The wisdom of a man
shineth in his countenance.” We would have been glad to stand with the disciples on the
mountain to see Jesus when His face shone.
I. What is the final secret of a radiant face like that of Jesus?
1. “A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine.” The genuine radiance of wisdom is not
an outside application. Outward polish desirable, but not to be substituted for
inward character.
2. There is a human wisdom in man that comes up through nature that seems to
have some radiating quality. The reign of life begins with the creature fiat on his face.
Ascending orders are, on the whole, increasingly erected, until man comes, the only
creature with wisdom to turn his face upward. He is the “being with the upturned
face.”
3. But the light of nature in man was not that which shone in the transfigured face of
Jesus. This light does not come up through nature, but down from God. Entering
man, it changes the qualities of the nature light. It is only when it streams out again
that we also get transfiguration experiences. This light in us is the “wisdom” that
makes the face shine.
II. How may we have and show this shining face?
1. Companying with Christ. The true disciple’s face will always reflect the Master’s
light.
2. Busy interest in a great aim pursued for Jesus’ sake. In cheerful work the face will
shine.
3. Faith in the coming triumph of the kingdom.
4. The immortal hope. Upon the disciple’s face the light is always that of the eternal
city. Dying saints in pain comfort us with shining faces when we go hoping to
comfort them. “Let your light shine.” (Homiletic Review.)

HAWKER, "The Preacher is still following up his favourite discourse of the vanity of
human life, through this chapter. Under various images he showeth the disappointments
of men, by ways of directing the heart to wisdom.
Ecc_8:1
Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s
wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
The question with which this Chapter opens, cannot fail, I should think, to bring to the
gracious Reader’s recollection, Him who is indeed Wisdom itself, and in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Precious Jesus! thy face did shine with a
lustre infinitely surpassing that of Moses, when in the mount of transfiguration, and
before Pilate thou didst witness a good confession. And who shall say what glory beamed
from thy countenance, when those who came to apprehend thee, in the garden, fell
backward on the ground before thee? Oh! Lord! grant me, like thy disciples, amidst all
the darkness concerning thee around, to behold thy glory, which thou dost manifest in
grace, that I may be of the happy number that believe in thee to the saving of the soul;
Exo_34:29; Mat_17:2; 1Ti_6:13; Joh_18:5-6; Joh_2:11.
EBC, "And to be in different, to Public Wrongs: Ecc_8:1-13
The fourth and last rule inferred from this prudent moderate view of life is, That we are
to submit with hopeful resignation to the wrongs which spring from human tyranny and
injustice. Unclouded by gusts of passion, the wise temperate Oriental carries a "bright
countenance" to the king’s divan. Though the king should rate him with "evil words," he
will remember his "oath of fealty," and not rise up in resentment, still less rush out in
open revolt. He knows that the word of a king is potent; that it will be of no use to show a
hot mutinous temper; that by a meek endurance of wrath he may allay or avert it. He
knows, too that obedience and submission are not likely to provoke insult and
contumely; and that if now and then he is exposed to an undeserved insult, any defence,
and especially an angry defence, will but damage his cause. (Ecc_8:1-5) Moreover, a man
who keeps himself cool and will not permit anger to blind him may, in the worst event,
foresee that a time of retribution will surely come on the king, or the satrap, who is
habitually unjust; that the people will revolt from him and exact heavy penalties for the
wrongs they have endured: that death, "that fell arrest without all bail," will carry him
away. He can see that time of retribution drawing nigh, although the tyrant, fooled by
impunity, is not aware of its approach; he can also see that when it comes it will be as a
war in which no furlough is granted, and whose disastrous close no craft can evade. All
this execution of long-delayed justice he has seen again and again; and therefore he will
not suffer his resentment to hurry him into dangerous courses, but will calmly await the
action of those social laws which compel every man to reap the due reward of his deeds
(Ecc_8:5-9).
Nevertheless he has also seen times in which retribution did not overtake oppressors;
times even when, in the person of children as wicked and tyrannical as themselves, they
"came again" to renew their injustice, and to blot out the memory of the righteous from
the earth (Ecc_8:10). And such times have no more disastrous result than this, that they
undermine faith and subvert morality. Men see that no immediate sentence is
pronounced against the Wicked, that they live long in their wickedness and beget

children to perpetuate it; and the faith of the good in the overruling providence of God is
shaken and strained, while the vast majority of men set themselves to do the evil which
flaunts its triumphs before their eyes (Ecc_8:11). None the less the Preacher is quite sure
that it is the part of wisdom to trust in the laws and look for the judgments of God: he is
quite sure that the triumph of the wicked will soon pass, while that of the good will
endure (Ecc_8:12-13); and therefore, as a man of prudent and forecasting spirit, he will
submit to injustice, but not inflict it, or at least not carry it to any dangerous excess.
The Method of the Man who seeks a Competence: Ecc_8:1-14
Suppose a young man to start in life with this theory, this plan, this aim, distinctly before
him:-he is to be ruled by prudence and plain common sense: he will try to stand well
with the world, and to make a moderate provision for future wants. This aim will beget a
certain temperance of thought and action. He will permit himself no extravagances-no
wandering out of bounds, and perhaps no enthusiasms, for he wants to establish "a good
name," a good reputation, which shall go before him like "a sweet perfume" and dispose
men’s hearts toward him. And, therefore, he carries a sober face, frequents the company
of older, wiser men, is grateful for any hints their experience may furnish, and takes even
their "reproof" with a good grace. He walks in the beaten paths, knowing the world to be
impatient of novelties. The wanton mirth and crackling laughter of fools in the house of
feasting are not for him. He is not to be seduced from the plain prudent course which he
has marked out for himself, whether by inward provocation or outward allurements. If
he is a young lawyer, he will write no poetry, attorneys holding literary men in suspicion.
If he is a young doctor, homeopathy, hydropathy, and all newfangled schemes of
medicine will disclose their charms to him in vain. If he is a young clergyman, he will be
conspicuous for his orthodoxy, and for his emphatic assent to all that the leaders of
opinion in the Church think or may think. If he is a young manufacturer or merchant, he
will be no breeder of costly patents and inventions, but will be among the first to profit
by them whenever they are found to pay. Whatever he may be, he will not be of those
who try to make crooked things straight and rough places plain. He wants to get on; and
the best way to get on is to keep the beaten path and push forward in that. And he will be
patient-not throwing up the game because for a time the chances go against him, but
waiting till the times mend and his chances improve. So far as he can, he will keep the
middle of the stream that, when the tide which leads on to fortune sets in, he may be of
the first to take it at the flood and sail easily on to his desired haven.
In all this there may be no conscious insincerity, and not much perhaps that calls for
censure. For all young men are not wise with the highest wisdom, nor original, nor brave
with the courage which follows Truth in scorn of consequence. And our young man may
not be dowered with the love of loves, the hate of hates, the scorn of scorns. He may be
of a nature essentially prudent and commonplace, or training and habit may have
superinduced a second nature. To him a primrose may be a primrose and nothing more;
his instinctive thought, as he looks at it, may be how he can reproduce its colour in some
of his textures or extract a saleable perfume from its nectared cup. He may even think
that primroses are a mistake, and that ‘tis pity they were not pot herbs; or he may
assume that he shall have plenty of time to gather primroses by and by, but that for the
present he must be content to pick pot herbs for the market. In his way, he may even be
a religious man; he may admit that both prosperity and adversity are of God, that we
must take patiently whatever He may send; and he may heartily desire to be on good
terms with Him who alone "can order all things as He please."
And to be indifferent to Public Wrongs: Ecc_8:1-13
The world, we may be sure, thinks none the worse of him for that. Once more he has

proved himself a man whose eye is steadfastly bent on "the main chance," and who
knows how to seize occasions as they rise. But he, who has thus profaned the inner
sanctuary of his own soul, is not likely to be sensitive to the large claims of public duty. If
he sees oppression, if the tyranny of a man or a class mounts to a height which calls for
rebuke and opposition, he is not likely to sacrifice comfort and risk either property or
popularity that he may assail iniquity in her strong places. It is not such men as he who,
when the times are out of joint, feel that they are born to set them right. Prudence is still
his guide, and Prudence says, "Let things alone; they will right themselves in time. The
social laws will avenge themselves on the head of the oppressor, and deliver the
oppressed. You can do little to hasten their action. Why, to gain so little, should you risk
so much?" And the man is content to sit still with folded hands when every hand that can
strike a blow for right is wanted in the strife, and can even quote texts of Scripture to
prove that in "quietness, and confidence" in the action of Divine Laws, is the true
strength.
The Preacher condemns this Theory of Human Life, and declares the Quest
to be still unattained: Ecc_8:14-15
This is by no means a noble or lofty view of human life; the line of conduct it prescribes
is often as immoral as it is ignoble; and we may feel some natural surprise at hearing
counsels so base from the lips of the inspired Hebrew Preacher. But we ought to know
him, and his method of instruction, well enough by this time to be sure that he is at least
as sensible of their baseness as we can be; that he is here speaking to us, not in his own
person, but dramatically, and from the lips of the man who, that he may secure a good
name and an easy position in the world, is disposed to accommodate himself to the
current maxims of his time and company. If we ever had any doubt on this point, it is set
at rest by the closing verses of the Section before us. For in these verses the Preacher
lowers his mask, and tells us plainly that we cannot and must not attempt to rest in the
theory he has just put before us, that to follow out its practical corollaries will lead us
away from the Chief Good, not toward it. More than once he has already hinted to us
that this "wisdom" is not the highest wisdom: and now he frankly avows that he is as
unsatisfied as ever, as far as ever from ending his Quest; that his last key will not unlock
those mysteries of life which have baffled him from the first. He still holds, indeed, that
it is better to be righteous than to be wicked, though he now sees that even the prudently
righteous often have a wage like that of the wicked, and that the prudently wicked often
have a wage like that of the righteous (Ecc_8:14). This new theory of life, therefore, he
confesses to be "a vanity" as great and deceptive as any of those he has hitherto tried.
And as even yet it does not suit him to give us his true theory and announce his final
conclusion, he falls back on the conclusion we have so often heard, that the best thing a
man can do is to eat and to drink, and to carry a clear enjoying temper through all the
days, and all the tasks, which God giveth him under the sun (Ecc_8:15). How this
familiar conclusion fits into his final conclusion, and is part of it, though not the whole,
we shall see in our study of the next and last section of the Book.
If, as Milton sings,
"To know That which before us lies in daily life is the prime wisdom,"
we are surely much indebted to the Hebrew Preacher. He does not "sit on a hill apart"
discussing fate, freewill, foreknowledge absolute, or any lofty abstruse theme. He walks
with us, in the common round, to the daily task, and talks to us of that which lies before
and around us in our daily life. Nor does he speak as one raised high above the folly and
weakness by which we are constantly betrayed. He has trodden the very paths we tread.
He shares our craving and has pursued our quest after "that which is good." He has been

misled by the illusions by which we are beguiled. And his aim is to save us from fruitless
researches and defeated hopes by placing his experience at our command. He speaks,
therefore, to our real need, and speaks with a cordial sympathy which renders his
counsel very welcome.
We are so made that we can find no rest until we find a supreme Good, a Good which
will satisfy all our faculties, passions, aspirations. For this we search with ardour; but
our ardour is not always under law to wisdom. We often assume that we have reached
our chief Good while it is still far off, or that we are at least looking for it in the right
direction when in truth we have turned our back upon it. Sometimes we seek for it in the
pursuit of knowledge, sometimes in pleasure and self-indulgence, sometimes in fervent
devotion to secular affairs; sometimes in love, sometimes in wealth, and sometimes in a
modest yet competent provision for our future wants. And if, when we have acquired the
special good we seek, we find that our hearts are still craving and restless, still hungering
for a larger good, we are apt to think that if we had a little more of that which so far has
disappointed us; if we were somewhat wiser, or if our pleasures were more varied; if we
had a little more love or a larger estate, all would be well with us, and we should be at
peace. Perhaps in time we get our "little more," but still our hearts do not cry, "Hold,
enough!"-enough being always a little more than we have; till at last, weary and
disappointed in our quest, we begin to despair of ourselves and to distrust the goodness
of God. "If God be good," we ask, "why has He made us thus-always seeking yet never
finding, urged on by imperious appetites which are never satisfied, impelled by hopes
which forever elude our grasp?" And because we cannot answer the question, we cry out,
"Vanity of vanities! all is vanity and vexation of spirit!"
"Ah, no," replies the kindly Preacher who has himself known this despairing mood and
surmounted it; "no, all is not vanity. There is a chief Good, a satisfying Good, although
you have not found it yet; and you have not found it because you have not looked for it
where alone it can be found. Once take the right path, follow the right clue, and you will
find a Good which will make all else good to you, a Good which will lend a new sweetness
to your wisdom and your mirth, your labour and your gain." But men are very slow to
believe that they have wasted their time and strength, that they have wholly mistaken
their path; they are reluctant to believe that a little more of that of which they have
already acquired so much, and which they have always held to be best, will not yield
them the satisfaction they seek. And therefore the wise Preacher, instead of telling us at
once where the true Good is to be found, takes much pains to convince us that it is not to
be found where we have been wont to seek it. He places before us a man of the largest
wisdom, whose pleasures were exquisitely varied and combined, a man whose devotion
to affairs was the most perfect and successful, a man of imperial nature and wealth, and
whose heart had glowed with all the fervours of love: and this man-himself under a thin
disguise-so rarely gifted and of such ample conditions, confesses that he could not find
the Chief Good in any one of the directions in which we commonly seek it, although he
had travelled farther in every direction than we can hope to go. If we are of a rational
temper, if we are open to argument and persuasion, if we are not resolved to buy our
own experience at a heavy, perhaps a ruinous, cost, how can we but accept the wise
Hebrew’s counsel, and cease to look for the satisfying Good in quarters in which he
assures us it is not to be found?
We have already considered his argument as it bore on the men of his own time; we have
now to make its application to our own age. As his custom is, the Preacher does not
develop his argument in open logical sequence; he does not write a moral essay, but
paints us a dramatic picture.

K&D, "“Who is like the wise? and who understandeth the interpretation of things? The
wisdom of a man maketh his face bright, and the rudeness of his face is changed.” Unlike
this saying: “Who is like the wise?” are the formulas ‫מי‬ ‫,חכם‬ Hosea 14:9, Jeremiah
11:11, Psalm 107:43, which are compared by Hitzig and others. “Who is like the wise?”
means: Who is equal to him? and this question, after the scheme ‫,מי־כמכה‬ Exodus
15:11, presents him as one who has not his like among men. Instead of ‫ּכה‬ the word
‫ּכחכם‬ might be used, after ‫,לחכם‬ Ecclesiastes 2:16, etc. The syncope is, as at Ezekiel
40:25, omitted, which frequently occurs, particularly in the more modern books, Ezekiel
47:22; 2 Chronicles 10:7; 2 Chronicles 25:10; 2 Chronicles 29:27; Nehemiah 9:19;
Nehemiah 12:38. The regular giving of Dagesh to ‫כ‬ after ‫,מי‬ with Jethib, not Mahpach, is
as at Ecclesiastes 8:7 after ‫;ּכי‬ Jethib is a disjunctive. The second question is not ‫,ּכיודע‬
but ‫ּומי‬ ‫,יודע‬ and thus does not mean: who is like the man of understanding, but: who
understands, viz., as the wise man does; thus it characterizes the incomparably
excellent as such. Many interpreters (Oetinger, Ewald, Hitz., Heiligst., Burg., Elst.,
Zöckl.) persuade themselves that ‫ּפׁשר‬ ‫ּדבר‬ is meant of the understanding of the proverb,
8b. The absence of the art., says Hitzig, does not mislead us: of a proverb, viz., the
following; but in this manner determinate ideas may be made from all indeterminate
ones. Rightly, Gesenius: explicationem ullius rei; better, as at Ecclesiastes 7:8: cujusvis
rei. Ginsburg compares ‫ּדבר‬ ‫נבון‬,1 Samuel 16:18, which, however, does not mean him
who has the knowledge of things, but who is well acquainted with words. It is true that
here also the chief idea ‫ּפׁשר‬ first leads to the meaning verbum ACCORDING to which
the lxx, Jer., the Targ., and Syr. translate; the Venet.: ἑρµηνείαν λόγου ); but since the
unfolding or explaining ((pēshěr)) refers to the actual contents of the thing spoken, verbi
and rei coincide. The wise man knows how to explain difficult things, to unfold
mysterious things; in short, he understands how to go to the foundation of things.
What now follows, Ecclesiastes 8:1 , might be introduced by the CONFIRMING ‫,כי‬ but
after the manner of synonymous parallelism it places itself in the same rank with 1a,
since, that the wise man stands so high, and no one like him looks through the centre of
things, is repeated in another form: “Wisdom maketh his face bright” is thus to be
understood after Psalm 119:130 and Psalm 19:9, wisdom draws the veil from his
countenance, and makes it clear; for wisdom is related to folly as light is to darkness,
Ecclesiastes 2:13. The contrast, ‫יׁש‬‫עזו‬ (“and the rudeness of his face is changed”),
shows, however, that not merely the brightening of the countenance, but in general that
intellectual and ethical transfiguration of the countenance is meant, in which at once,
even though it should not in itself be beautiful, we discover the EDUCATED man rising
above the common rank. To translate, with Ewald: and the brightness of his
countenance is doubled, is untenable; even supposing that ‫יׁשּנא‬ can mean, like the
Arab. (yuthattay), duplicatur, still ‫,עז‬ in the meaning of brightness, is in itself, and
especially with ‫,ּפניו‬ impossible, along with which it is, without doubt, to be understood
after (az panim), Deuteronomy 28:50; Daniel 8:23, and (hē'ēz panim), Proverbs 7:13, or
(bephanim), Proverbs 21:29, so that thus ‫עז‬ ‫פנים‬ has the same meaning as the post-bibl.
‫עּזּות‬ ‫,פנים‬ stiffness, hardness, rudeness of countenance = boldness, want of
bashfulness, regardlessness, e.g., Shabbath 30b, where we find a prayer in these
words: O keep me this day from ‫עזי‬ ‫פנים‬ and from ‫פ‬ ‫עזות‬ (that I may not incur the former
or the latter). The Talm. Taanith 7b, thus explaining, says: “Every man to whom ‫פ‬ ‫עזות‬
belongs, him one may hate, as the scripture says, ‫ׂנא‬◌‫יּש‬‫ועז‬ (do not read ‫”.)יׁשּנא‬ The
lxx translates µισητηήσεται will be hated, and thus also the Syr.; both have thus read as
the Talm. has done, which, however, bears witness in favour of ‫יׁשּנא‬ as the traditional
reading. It is not at all necessary, with Hitzig, after Zirkel, to read y|shane': but boldness
disfigureth his countenance; ‫עז‬ in itself alone, in the meaning of boldness, would, it is

true, along with ‫פניו‬ as the obj. of the verb, be tenable; but the change is unnecessary,
the passive affords a perfectly intelligible meaning: the boldness, or rudeness, of his
visage is changed, viz., by wisdom (Böttch., Ginsb., Zöckl.). The verb ‫ׁשנה‬)‫שנא‬ ,
Lamentations 4:1) means, Malachi 3:6, merely “to change, to become different;” the Pih.
‫,ׁשּנה‬ Jeremiah 52:33, ‫ׁשּנא‬,2 Kings 25:29, denotes in these two passages a change in
melius, and the proverb of the Greek, Sir. 13:24, -
Καρδία ἀντηρώπου ἀλλοιοῖ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ
ἐάν τε εἰς ἀγαθὰ ἐάν τε εἰς κακά ,
is preserved to us in its original form thus:
‫פניו‬ ‫יׁשּנא‬ ‫אדם‬ ‫לב‬
‫לרע׃‬ ‫ּובין‬ ‫לטוב‬ ‫ּבין‬
so that thus ‫,ׁשּנא‬ in the sense of being changed as to the sternness of the expression of
the countenance, is as good as established. What Ovid says of science: emollit mores
nec sinit esse feros, thus tolerably falls in with what is here said of wisdom: Wisdom
gives bright eyes to a man, a gentle countenance, a noble expression; it refines and
dignifies his external appearance and his demeanour; the hitherto rude external, and the
regardless, selfish, and bold deportment, are changed into their contraries. If, now,
Ecclesiastes 8:1 is not to be regarded as an independent proverb, it will bear somewhat
the relation of a prologue to what follows. Luther and others regard Ecclesiastes 8:1 as
of the nature of an epilogue to what goes before; parallels, such as Hosea 14:9, make
that appear probable; but it cannot be yielded, because the words are not ‫מי‬ ‫,חכם‬ but ‫מי‬
‫.כהח‬ But that which follows easily subordinates itself to Ecclesiastes 8:1, in as far as
fidelity to duty and thoughtfulness amid critical social relations are proofs of that wisdom
which sets a man FREE from impetuous rudeness, and fits him intelligently and with a
clear mind to accommodate himself to the time.
2 Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an
oath before God.
BAR ES, "Oath - A reference to the oath of allegiance taken to Solomon at his
accession to the throne (the margin of 1Ch_29:24).

CLARK, "To keep the king’s commandment - This sentence would be better
translated, I keep the mouth of the king; I take good heed not to meddle with state
secrets; and if I know, to hide them. Or, I am obedient to the commands of the laws; I
feel myself bound by whatever the king has decreed.
In regard of the oath of God - You have sworn obedience to him; keep your oath,
for the engagement was made in the presence of God. It appears that the Jewish princes
and chiefs took an oath of fidelity to their kings. This appears to have been done to
David, 2Sa_5:1-3; to Joash, 2Ki_11:17; and to Solomon, 1Ch_29:24.
GILL, "I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment,.... Or, "to observe the
mouth of the king" (w); what he says, and do according to it when it is agreeably to the
law of God, and according to the laws of the kingdom, by which he is to govern; for kings
are to be honoured, obeyed, and submitted to, in the lawful discharge of their office: and
such counsel and advice as this is wholesome; and, being taken, contributes much, as to
the honour of kings, so to the good of kingdoms and states, and to a man's own peace
and comfort. Aben Ezra supplies it,
"I command thee, or I admonish thee;''
for it may be either a charge, or art advice, respecting this and what follows. Jarchi
supplies and paraphrases it thus,
"I have need, and am prepared, to observe the mouth (or keep the commandment) of the
King of the world;''
and so Alshech,
"observe that which goes out of the mouth of the King of the world.''
And indeed, to understand it, not of an earthly king, but of the King of kings, as it is
understood by other interpreters also, suits better with what is said of this King in the
following verses; whose commandments, which are not grievous, but to be loved above
fine gold, should be kept from a principle of love, without mercenary and selfish views,
as they are delivered out by him, and to his glory; and such a charge as this should be
attended to, and such counsel be received;
and that in regard of the oath of God; who has swore, that if his children forsake
his law, and walk not in his statutes, he will visit their transgressions with a rod, and
their iniquities with stripes; and therefore should be careful to keep his commandments,
Psa_89:30. Those who interpret this of an earthly king, by the oath of God understand
the oath of allegiance and fidelity to him, taken in the name and presence of God, and
therefore for conscience's sake should obey him: or render it, "but so that thou
observest the manner of the oath of God" (x); or takest care to obey him; or do nothing
in obedience to kings, which is contrary to the will of God; for God is to be obeyed rather
than men, Act_4:19; especially, and above all things, that is to be regarded.

HE RY, "A particular instance of wisdom pressed upon us, and that is subjection to
authority, and a dutiful and peaceable perseverance in our allegiance to the government
which Providence has set over us. Observe,
1. How the duty of subjects is here described. (1.) We must be observant of the laws. In
all those things wherein the civil power is to interpose, whether legislative or judicial, we
ought to submit to its order and constitutions: I counsel thee; it may as well be supplied,
I charge thee, not only as a prince but as a preacher: he might do both; “I recommend it
to thee as a piece of wisdom; I say, whatever those say that are given to change, keep the
king's commandment; wherever the sovereign power is lodged, be subject to it. Observe
the mouth of a king” (so the phrase is); “say as he says; do as he bids thee; let his word
be a law, or rather let the law be his word.” Some understand the following clause as a
limitation of this obedience: “Keep the king's commandment, yet so as to have a regard
to the oath of God, that is, so as to keep a good conscience and not to violate thy
obligations to God, which are prior and superior to thy obligations to the king. Render to
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but so as to reserve pure and entire to God the
things that are his.”
JAMISO , "the king’s — Jehovah, peculiarly the king of Israel in the theocracy;
Ecc_8:3, Ecc_8:4, prove it is not the earthly king who is meant.
the oath of God — the covenant which God made with Abraham and renewed with
David; Solomon remembered Psa_89:35, “I have sworn,” etc. (Psa_89:36), and the
penalties if David’s children should forsake it (Psa_89:30-32); inflicted on Solomon
himself; yet God not “utterly” forsaking him (Psa_89:33, Psa_89:34).
BENSON, "Ecclesiastes 8:2-4. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment — All his
commands which are not contrary to the will of God, who must be obeyed rather than
any man, even rather than a king. In regard of the oath of God — Because of that oath
which thou hast taken to keep all God’s laws, whereof this of obedience to superiors is
one. Be not hasty to go out of his sight — Hebrew, to go from his face or presence,
namely, in dislike or discontent to WITHDRAW thyself from the king’s service, or from
obedience to him: stand not in an evil thing — If thou hast offended him, persist not to
do so but humbly acknowledge thine offence, and beg his pardon; for he doth
whatsoever pleaseth him — His power is uncontrollable. Where the word of a king is,
there is power — Whatsoever he commands he wants not power nor instruments to
execute, and therefore can easily punish thee as he pleases. And who may say unto him
— Hebrew, who shall say? who will presume, or dare to say so? He does not affirm that it
is unlawful to say so; for Samuel spoke in that manner to Saul, and Nathan to David, and
several other prophets to the kings of Judah and Israel; but only that it is difficult and
dangerous.
PULPIT, "I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment. The pronoun I stands in
the Hebrew without a verb, and some take it as the answer to the question in Ecc_
8:1, "Who is like the wise man?" I, who am now teaching you. But it is better to
regard the pronoun as emphasizing the following rule, supplying some verb, as,
"Say, advise—I, for my part, whatever others may do or advise, I counsel thee;" the
injunction being given in the imperative mood. The Septuagint and Syriac omit the

pronoun altogether. The warning implies that the writer was living under kingly,
and indeed despotic, government, and it was the part of a wise man to exhibit
cheerful obedience. Ben-Sira observes that wise men teach us how to serve great
men (Ecclesiasticus 8:8). Such conduct is not only prudent, but really a religious-
duty, even as the prophets counsel submission to Assyrian and Chaldean rulers (see
Jer_27:12; Jer_29:7; Eze_17:15). The liege lord, being God's vicegerent, must be
reverenced and obeyed. St. Paul, though he does not quote Ecclesiastes, may have
had this passage in mind when he wrote (Rom_13:1), "Let every soul be subject
unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are
ordained of God," etc.; and (verse 5), "Ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath,
but also for conscience' sake." The "king" in the text is understood by some to mean
God, but the following clause renders this improbable, and it is wisdom in its
political aspect that is here regarded. And that in regard of the oath of God. The vav
is explicative; "in regard of," or "because of," as Ecc_3:18. "The oath of God" is
the oath of allegiance to the king, taken in the name of God, under his invocation
(comp. Exo_22:11; 1Ki_2:43). So we read (2Ki_11:17) of a covenant between king
and people, and people and king, in the time of Jehoiada; ebuchadnezzar made
Zedekiah swear by God to be his vassal (2Ch_36:13); and Josephus ('Ant.,' 12.1;
11.8. 3) relates that Ptolemy Soter, son of Lagus (following herein the example of
Darius), exacted an oath from the Jews in Egypt to be true to him and his
successors. We know that both Babylonian and Persian monarchs exacted an oath
of fealty from conquered nations, making them swear by the gods whom they
worshipped, the selection of deities being left to them,
PULPIT 2-6, "Honor the king.
I. THE SUBJECT'S DUTY TOWARDS THE KI G.
1. To keep the king's command. Unless conscience interposes with a clear and
distinct veto, as in the cases of Moses' parents (Heb_11:23), Daniel and his
companions in Babylon (Ecc_1:8; Ecc_3:16-18; Ecc_6:10), and the apostles before
the Sanhedrin (Act_4:19, Act_4:20), it is the duty of all to render obedience to the
civil power, kingly or magisterial, even though the doing of this should entail
suffering and hardship (Rom_13:1-7; Tit_3:1; 1Pe_2:13-15).
2. To abide in the king's service. The subject should not be hasty "to go out of the
king's presence," in the sense of either renouncing allegiance to the king's throne, or
deserting the post of duty he has received from the king. The obligation to preserve
one's loyalty, however, is not absolute. Times may come when insurrection is a duty,
as in the revolution which overthrew Athaliah (2Ch_23:15; 2Ki_11:16). or can it
be maintained that statesmen should never desert their sovereigns. When these
embark on projects the consciences of their ministers cannot approve, it is
incumbent on these ministers to leave them. Only nations should not resort to
revolutionary practices without due consideration, and statesmen should not resign
their portfolios in a fit of haste.
3. To preserve the king's favor. This the subject will usually do, if he "persist not in

an evil thing," i.e. if he take no part in conspiracies against the king's power or
person; as he certainly will lose the king's favor by acting otherwise.
II. THE GROU DS O WHICH THE SUBJECT'S DUTY RESTS.
1. The sanctions of religion. These as much bind the subject as if the subject had
individually sworn an oath in God's presence. The relationship existing between
king and people being of Divine appointment, the subject is practically bound as by
a solemn covenant in God's sight to render obedience and loyalty to his sovereign
(cf. 2Ch_23:16; 2Ch_36:13). or does religion exempt the subject from such
obligation even when the king is unworthy and his rule oppressive (Jer_29:7; Mat_
22:21).
2. The power of the king. This also a reason why the subject should not raise the
standard of rebellion without just cause, or offer unreasonable resistance to the
carrying out of royal commands, that the king, as representative of the supreme
power of the state, is usually able to enforce obedience and loyalty at least of an
external kind. "The king doeth whatsoever pleaseth him," etc. (verses 3, 4). The
language applies to Oriental despots more than to constitutional monarchs.
3. The safety of the subject. Under arbitrary rule such as the Preacher alluded to,
the way of submission was the way of safety. It might not, indeed, promise much
good to the individual quietly to submit to a power he could not resist; but at least it
would largely protect him against evil. Ideal rulers should be a fountain of blessing
to their loyal as well as a force of repression to their disloyal subjects (Rom_13:3).
4. The dictates of wisdom. The subject who might feel impelled to rebellion and
disobedience perceives that, as "to every purpose there is a time and judgment",
since otherwise man's misery beneath the whips and scorns of time would become
intolerable, so the oppression under which he groans will one day exhaust itself,
come to an end, and be called up for judgment at the bar of the Supreme, if not in
time and on earth, at least at the world's close, and in the unseen; and, perceiving
this, the wise subject deems it better to keep the king's commandment, and maintain
allegiance to the king's throne, than to enter on the dubious paths of insurrection
and revolt.
Learn:
1. The superior honor due from man to him who is the King of kings.
2. The loftier grounds on which the Christian soul's allegiance to God and Jesus
Christ is claimed.
3. The blessedness of those who are faithful subjects of the heavenly King.
4. The folly of attempting to elude God's presence, and the danger of persisting in an
evil thing.

5. The high argument for patience supplied by the certain prospect of a future
judgment.
YOU G, "The oath of God means the oath of allegiance which
subjects took, and which is implied as taken by every citi-
zen of every country. The word " king" stands for any
ruler — any one in lawful authority. Obedience is due to
" the powers that be," and is inculcated by several consid-
erations. (1.) By the oath taken by subjects. While
foreigners are generally required to take the oath of alle-
giance on becoming citizens, all native-born citizens are
regarded as under a covenant to obey. Bridges says, " If
there be no outward covenants, as in days of old, the sol-
emn obligation still remains to those who stand to us in
the place of God." If it does not, then foreigners are
better citizens than natives, which would be absurd.
Be not hasty to go out of his sight : stand not in an evil
thing ; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4. Where the
word of a king is, there is power : and tvho may say unto hiniy
What doest thou ? 5. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall
feel no evil thing : and a wise mans heart discerneth both time
and judgment.
Be not impatient at the commands of the ruler, and
therefore hasty to leave duty. And persist not in the
wrong. To go out of the king's sight, is to avoid duty.
In Esther i. 14, seven princes are spoken of, which saw
the king's face, i. e., waited obediently before him. The
angels " stand before God." They wait in obedient read-
iness. Jesus says of " these little ones," " their angels do
always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."
They stand before God, looking to catch the first intima-
tion of his will, to see what commands he has for them
concerning these little ones.
They wait to avenge the wrongs of these little ones ;
therefore despise them not. Be obedient, is expressed
by — " go not out of his presence." " Stand not in an evil
thing," i. e., persist not, if you have inadvertently or wil-
fully erred.
" For he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." (2.) The
second reason here given for obedience is, the ruler has
power to enforce his commands. " He doeth whatsoever
pleaseth him." The fourth verse is a repetition of the
last part of the third, to make it emphatic.

HAWKER, "I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the
oath of God. (3) Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he
doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. (4) Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who
may say unto him, What doest thou? (5) Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no
evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. (6) Because to
every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon
him. (7) For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
I am inclined to believe, that by the King here spoken of, the preacher (who was himself
the greatest king among men), meant somewhat more than any earthly king; even Jesus
who is King of kings, and Lord of lords. For the word of an earthly monarch is frequently
without power. But He, of whom Solomon spake, hath all power in heaven and in earth.
Oh! grant, blessed Jesus, that thy word may be always accompanied with power to my
heart. Mat_28:18; Luk_4:32.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and
that in regard of the oath of God.
Obedience to the civil government
Notwithstanding men differ so much in their several opinions concerning human
authority, and entertain such various notions about the rise and original foundation of
civil government: yet it is generally agreed upon by all sides that it is absolutely
necessary that there should be such a thing as government; and the common voice of
reason (as well as the practice of all ages) plainly declares that the universal good of
mankind can in no wise be carried on without it. From hence it appears to be the interest
of mankind in general that government should be kept up and maintained; but because
men are so partial to themselves, as through pride, ambition, or revenge, to overlook and
disregard the public good, when it stands in competition with their own private
advantage: God in His wisdom has thought fit not to leave us to the guidance and
direction of natural reason only, but has also by His revealed will more strongly enforced
our obligation to contribute in our several capacities towards promoting the public good
and common welfare of society. In discoursing upon which words I propose to consider
them—
I. As they related particularly to the people of Israel. They may admit of this paraphrase:
I advise and counsel you to pay all dutiful submission to your king and governor, to obey
his commands in all instances which are not contrary to God’s laws; and thus I counsel
thee to observe the king’s commandment, not only in point of prudence and humane
policy, because he can do whatsoever pleaseth him, and has an absolute power to inflict
punishment upon such as shall dare to disobey his commands; but upon a more weighty
and religious account, because your disobedience will not only render you obnoxious to
the wrath and displeasure of a powerful earthly prince, but provoke to anger the great
God of heaven and earth, in whose presence you have obliged yourself by an oath to bear
true allegiance to your sovereign; and who (as you very well know) has denounced severe
threatenings against all such as shall presume to swear falsely by his name, and has
positively declared that he will not hold him guiltless who is not careful to perform unto

the Lord his oath.
II. As containing the ground and reason of our obedience to government. That
obedience is due from subjects to their governors is a truth fairly deducible from natural
reason; and that it is the duty of all men to comply with the laws of the particular
constitution of the place where they live, the Scriptures evidently declare. They acquaint
us that governors are the ministers of God, appointed for the common good of society,
that whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. As for the grounds
and reasons upon which our obedience to government is founded, they are many and
various; some take their force from those laws which the voice of reason dictates; some
from those precepts and commands which are contained in the books of Scripture; some
from that personal security which it has been the custom among many nations for the
supreme authority to require of the several members which are under its jurisdiction;
and from those engagements and promises which subjects have given the government to
which they belong, that they will obediently submit to such rules and orders as the
legislative power shall think fit to enjoin them to observe. An oath is a solemn appeal to
Almighty God, as a Witness and Avenger. As a Witness to the truth of what we affirm,
and the sincerity of our resolution to perform and do what we promise. As an Avenger in
case we deliver for a truth what we know or believe to be false, and do not actually design
to perform what we promise. It is therefore a most shameful and abominable practice to
play fast and loose with things of so sacred a nature: it is one of the vilest as well as most
dangerous sins a man can commit, one of the greatest indignities he can offer to his
Creator; it is in a manner as enormous a crime as the calling in question God’s infinite
truth and knowledge, and near as hazardous a provocation as that of bidding defiance to
His almighty power. (T. Payne, M. A.)
K&D, "The faithfulness of subjects, Koheleth says, is a religious duty: “I say: Observe
well the kings' command, and that because of the oath of God.” The author cannot have
written Ecclesiastes 8:2 as it here stands; ‫אני‬ hovers in the air. Hitzig reads, with Jerome,
‫,ׁשמר‬ and hears in Ecclesiastes 8:2-4 a servile person speaking who veils himself in the
cloak of religion; in Ecclesiastes 8:5-8 follows the censura of this corrupt theory. but we
have already remarked that Ecclesiastes 8:2 ACCORDS with Romans 13:5, and is thus
not a corrupt theory; besides, this distribution of the expressions of the Book of Koheleth
between different speakers is throughout an expedient resting on a delusion. Luther
translates: I keep the word of the king, and thus reads ‫;אׁשּר‬ as also does the Jer.
Sanhedrin 21b, and Koheleth rabba, under this passage: I observe the command of the
king, of the queen. In any case, it is not God who is meant here by “the king;” the words:
“and that because of the oath of God,” render this impossible, although Hengst. regards
it as possible; for (1) “the oath of God” he understands, against all usage, of the oath
which is taken to God; and (2) he maintains that in the O.T. scarcely any passage is to
be found where obedience to a heathen master is set forth as a religious duty. But the
prophets show themselves as morally great men, without a stain, just in this, that they
decidedly condemn and unhesitatingly chastise any breach of faith committed against
the Assyrian or Chaldean oppressor, e.g., Isaiah 28:15; Isaiah 30:1; Ezekiel 17:15; cf.
Jeremiah 27:12. However, although we understand (mělěk) not of the heavenly, but of
an earthly king, yet ‫אׁשמר‬ does not recommend itself, for Koheleth records his
experience, and derives therefrom warnings and admonitions; but he never in this
manner presents himself as an example of virtue. The paraenetic imper. ‫ׁשמר‬ is thus not
to be touched. Can we then use ani elliptically, as equivalent to “I say as follows”?
Passages such as Jeremiah 20:10 (Elst.), where ‫לאמר‬ is omitted, are not at all the
same. Also Ezekiel 34:11, where ‫הנני‬ is strengthened by ani, and the expression is not

elliptical, is not in point here. And Isaiah 5:9 also does not APPLY to the case of the
supposed ellipsis here. In an ingenious bold manner the Midrash helps itself in Lev 18
and Num 14, for with reference to the self-introduction of royal words like ‫אני‬ ‫פרעה‬ it
explains: “Observe the I from the mouth of the king.” This explanation is worthy of
mention, but it has little need of refutation; it is also contrary to the accentuation, which
gives Pashta to ani, as to ‫,ראה‬ Ecclesiastes 7:27, and ‫,לבד‬ Ecclesiastes 7:29, and thus
places it by itself. Now, since this elliptical I, after which we would place a colon, is
insufferably harsh, and since also it does not recommend itself to omit it, as is done by
the lxx, the Targ., and Syr., - for the words must then have a different order, ‫ׁשמר‬ ‫פי‬ ‫המלך‬
, - it is most advisable to supply ‫,אמרּתי‬ and to write ‫אני‬ ‫אם‬ or ‫אם‬ ‫,אני‬ after Ecclesiastes
2:1; Ecclesiastes 3:17-18. We find ourselves here, besides, within an I section,
consisting of sentences interwoven in a Mashal form. The admonition is solemnly
introduced, since Koheleth, himself a king, and a wise man in addition, gives it the
support of the authority of his person, in which it is to be observed that the religious
motive introduced by ‫ו‬ explic. (vid., Ewald, §340b) is not merely an appendix, but the
very point of the admonition. Kleinert, INCORRECTLY: “Direct thyself according to the
mouth of the king, and that, too, as according to an oath of God.” Were this the
meaning, then we might certainly wish that it were a servile Alexandrian court-Jew who
said it. But why should that be the meaning? The meaning “wegen” because of, which is
usually attributed to the word-connection ‫עלדברת‬ here and at Ecclesiastes 3:18;
Ecclesiastes 7:14, Kleinert maintains to be an arbitrary invention. But it alone fits these
three passages, and why an arbitrary invention? If ‫,על־ּדבר‬ Psalm 45:5; Psalm 79:9, etc.,
means “von wegen” on ACCOUNT of, then also ‫על־דברת‬ will signify “propter rationem,
naturam,” as well as (Psalm 110:4) ad rationem. ‫אל‬ ‫ׁשב‬ is, as elsewhere ‫יה‬ ‫,ׁשב‬ e.g.,
Exodus 22:10, a promise given under an appeal to God, a declaration or promise
strengthened by an oath. Here it is the oath of obedience which is meant, which the
covenant between a king and his people includes, though it is not expressly entered into
by individuals. The king is designated neither as belonging to the nation, nor as a
foreigner; that which is said is VALID also in the case of the latter. Daniel, Nehemiah,
Mordecai, etc., acted in conformity with the words of Koheleth, and the oath of
vassalage which the kings of Israel and Judah swore to the kings of Assyria and of
Babylon is regarded by the prophets of both kingdoms as binding on king and people.
3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do
not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he
pleases.
BAR ES, "Stand not ... - i. e., “Do not persist in rebellion.”
CLARK, "Be not hasty - I consider the first five verses here as directions to courtiers,
and the more immediate servants of kings.
Be steadily faithful to your sovereign. Do not stand in an evil thing. If you have done

wrong, do not endeavor to vindicate yourself before him; it is of no use; his power is
absolute, and he will do what he pleases. He will take his own view of the subject, and he
will retain it. The language of a despotic sovereign was ever this, Sic volo sic jubeo, stat
pro ratione voluntas; “I will this. I command that. No hesitation! My will is law!”
Therefore it is added here, Where the word of a king is, there is power - influence,
authority, and the sword. And who may say unto him, whether he acts right or wrong,
What doest thou? Ecc_8:4. No wonder in such governments there are so many
revolutions; but they are revolutions without amendment, as it is one tyrant rising up to
destroy another, who, when seated in authority, acts in the way of his predecessor; till
another, like himself, do to him as he has done to the former. In our country, after a long
trial, we find that a mixed monarchy is the safest, best, and most useful form of
government: we have had, it is true, unprincipled ministers, who wished to turn our
limited into an absolute monarchy; and they were always ready to state that an absolute
monarchy was best. Granted; provided the monarch be as wise, as holy, and as powerful
as God!
GILL, "Be not hasty to go out of his sight,.... But of the sight of the King of kings.
Do not think to hide thyself from him, for there is no fleeing from his presence, Psa_
139:7; it is best, when under some consternation, as the word (y) signifies, or under
some fearful apprehension of his wrath and indignation, to fall down before him,
acknowledge the offence, and pray for pardon: and to this purpose is the Targum,
"and in the time of the indignation of the Lord, do not cease to pray before him; being
terrified (or troubled) before him, go and pray, and seek mercy of him;''
and with which agrees the note of Jarchi,
"be not troubled, saying that thou wilt go and free from his presence, to a place where he
does not rule, for he rules in every place.''
Such who interpret this of an earthly king suppose this forbids a man going out from the
presence of a king in a pet and passion, withdrawing himself from his court and service
in a heat, at once;
stand not in an evil thing; having done it, continue not in it; but repent of it,
acknowledge and forsake it, whether against God or an earthly king;
for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him; which best agrees with the King of kings,
who does what he pleases, in heaven above and in earth below, both in nature,
providence, and grace; see Job_23:13; though earthly kings indeed have long hands, as
is usually said, and can reach a great way, and do great things, especially despotic and
arbitrary princes, and it is very difficult escaping their hands. The Targum is,
"for the Lord of all worlds, the Lord will do what he pleases.''
HE RY, "We must not be forward to find fault with the public administration, or
quarrel with every thing that is not just according to our mind, nor quit our post of

service under the government, and throw it up, upon every discontent (Ecc_8:3): “Be
not hasty to go out of his sight, when he is displeased at thee (Ecc_10:4), or when thou
art displeased at him; fly not off in a passion, nor entertain such jealousies of him as will
tempt thee to renounce the court or forsake the kingdom.” Solomon's subjects, as soon
as his head was laid low, went directly contrary to this rule, when upon the rough answer
which Rehoboam gave them, they were hasty to go out of his sight, would not take time
for second thoughts nor admit proposals of accommodation, but cried, To your tents, O
Israel! “There may perhaps be a just cause to go out of his sight; but be not hasty to do
it; act with great deliberation.” (3.) We must not persist in a fault when it is shown us:
“Stand not in an evil thing; in any offence thou hast given to thy prince humble thyself,
and do not justify thyself, for that will make the offence much more offensive. In any ill
design thou hast, upon some discontent, conceived against thy prince, do not proceed in
it; but if thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or hast thought evil, lay thy hand
upon thy mouth,” Pro_30:32. Note, Though we may by surprise be drawn into an evil
thing, yet we must not stand in it, but recede from it as soon as it appears to us to be evil.
JAMISO , "hasty — rather, “Be not terror-struck so as to go out of His sight.”
Slavishly “terror-struck” is characteristic of the sinner’s feeling toward God; he vainly
tries to flee out of His sight (Psa_139:7); opposed to the “shining face” of filial
confidence (Ecc_8:1; Joh_8:33-36; Rom_8:2; 1Jo_4:18).
stand not — persist not.
for he doeth — God inflicts what punishment He pleases on persisting sinners (Job_
23:13; Psa_115:3). True of none save God.
PULPIT, "Further advice concerning political behavior. Be not hasty to go out of
his (the king's) sight. Do not, from some hasty impulse, or induced by harsh
treatment, cast off your allegiance to your liege lord. We have the phrase, "go
away," in the sense of quitting of service or desertion of a duty, in Gen_4:16; Hos_
11:2. So St. Peter urges servants to be subject unto their masters, "not only to the
good and gentle, but also to the froward" (1Pe_2:18). Solomon might have given this
advice to the Israelites who were ready to follow Jeroboam's lead; though they could
have remained loyal to Rehoboam only from high religious motives. But it is better
to bear even a heavy yoke than to rebel. The Septuagint has, "Be not hasty; thou
shalt go from his presence"—which seems to mean, "Be not impatient, and all will
be well." But the authorized rendering is correct (comp. Ecc_10:4). We may quote
Mendelssohn's comment cited by Chance on Job_34:16, "This is a great rule in
politics, that the people must have no power to pronounce judgment upon the
conduct of a king, whether it be good or bad; for the king judges the people, and not
the reverse; and if it were not for this rule, the country would never be quiet, and
without rebels against the king and his law." Stand not in an evil thing; Vulgate,
eque permaneas in opere malo, "Persist not in an evil affair." But the verb here
implies rather the engaging in a matter than CO TI UI G an undertaking already
begun. The "affair" is conspiracy, insurrection; and Koheleth warns against
entering upon and taking part in any such attempt. This seems to be the correct
explanation of the clause; but it is, perhaps intentionally, ambiguous, and is capable
of other interpretations. Thus Ginsburg, "Do not stand up (in a passion) because of

an evil word." Others, "Obey not a sinful command," or "Hesitate not at an evil
thing," i.e. if the king orders it. Wordsworth, referring to Psa_1:1. renders, "Stand
not in the way of sinners," which seems to be unsuitable to the context. The
Septuagint gives, "Stand not in an evil word" ( λόγῳ , perhaps "matter"). The
reason for the injunction follows. For he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. The
irresponsible power of a despotic monarch is here signified, though the terms are
applicable (as some, indeed, take them as alone appertaining) to God himself (but
see Pro_20:2). The Septuagint combines with this clause the commencement of the
following verse, "For he will do whatsover he pleases, even as a king using authority
( ἐξουσιάζων )." Some manuscripts add λαλεῖ , "he speaks."
K&D, "The warning, corresponding to the exhortation, now follows: One must not
thoughtlessly avoid the duty of service and homage due to the king: “Hasten not to
go away from him: join not in an evil matter; for he executeth all that he desireth.”
Regarding the connection, of two verbs with one idea, lying before us in ‫תּלך‬…‫אל־‬ ,
as e.g., at Zechariah 8:15; Hosea 1:6, vid., Gesen. §142. 3b. Instead of this sentence,
we might use ‫מפניו‬ ‫ללכת‬ ‫,אל־תבהל‬ as e.g., Aboth v. 8: “The wise man does not
interrupt another, and hastens not to answer,” i.e., is not too hasty in answering. As
with ‫,עם‬ to be with the king, Ecclesiastes 4:15 = to hold with him, so here ‫הלך‬ ‫מפניו‬
means to take oneself away from him, or, as it is expressed in Ecclesiastes 10:4, to
leave one's station; cf. Hosea 11:2: “They (the prophets of Jahve) called to them,
forthwith they betook themselves away from them.” It is possible that in the choice
of the expression, the phrase ‫מפני‬ ‫,נבהל‬ “to be put into a state of alarm before any
one,” Job 23:15, was not without influence. The indef. ‫דּבר‬ ‫,רע‬ Deuteronomy 17:1;
Deuteronomy 23:10, cf. Deuteronomy 13:12; Deuteronomy 19:20, 2 Kings 4:41, etc.,
is to be referred (with Rosenm., Knobel, Bullock, and others) to undertakings which
aim at resisting the will of the king, and reach their climax in conspiracy against the
king's throne and life (Proverbs 24:21 ). ‫בּ‬ ‫אל־תּעמד‬ might mean: persist not in it; but
the warning does not presuppose that the entrance thereon had already taken place,
but seeks to prevent it, thus: E TERnot, go not, engage not, like ('amad bederek),
Psalm 1:1; ('amad babrith), 2 Kings 23:3; cf. Psalm 106:23; Jeremiah 23:18. Also
the Arab. ('amada li) = intendit, proposuit sibi rem, is compared; it is used in the
general sense of “to make toward something, to stretch to something.” Otherwise
Ewald, Elst., Ginsb., and Zöckl.: stand not at an evil word (of the king), provoking
him to anger thereby still more, - against Ecclesiastes 8:5, where ‫דבר‬ ‫,רע‬ as generally
(cf. Psalm 141:4), means an evil thing, and against the close connection of ‫עמד‬ ‫,בּ‬
which is to be presupposed. Hitzig even: stand not at an evil command, i.e., hesitate
not to do even that which is evil, which the king commands, with the remark that
here a servilismus is introduced as speaking, who, in saying of the king, “All that
pleaseth him he doeth,” uses words which are used only of God the Almighty, John
1:14; Psalm 33:9, etc. Hengst., Hahn, Dale, and others therefore dream of the
heavenly King in the text. But proverbs of the earthly king, such as Proverbs 20:2,
say the very same thing; and if the Mishna Sanhedrin ii. 2, to which Tyler refers,
says of the king, “The king cannot himself be a judge, nor can any one judge him; he
does not give evidence, and no evidence can be given against him,” a sovereignty is
thus attributed to the king, which is formulated in 3b and established in the verse

following.
4 Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him,
"What are you doing?"
GILL, "Where the word of a king is, there is power,.... Or "dominion" (z).
Authority goes along with his word of command; and there is an inferior magistracy, a
subordinate power under him, ready to execute his will upon the rebellious and
disobedient. Jarchi interprets it, the word of the holy blessed God; and the Targum, the
word of that King who rules over all the world; where his word of doctrine comes, not in
word only, it is with power: his written word is quick and powerful; the word of his
Gospel preached is the power of God to salvation; or is accompanied with power to
enlighten dark minds, quicken dead sinners, unstop deaf ears, soften hard hearts, and
deliver men from the slavery of sin and Satan; it makes men, of enemies, friends to God,
Christ, and good men; transforms them by the renewing of their minds, and comforts
and establishes saints; all which is attributed to the word; and are the effects of almighty
power, Heb_4:12; his word of command also comes with power, being clothed with his
authority; and is submitted to by his people in the day of his power upon them, who
readily and cheerfully obey it;
and who may say unto him, what dost thou? call him to an account for, or
complain of any of his works of creation, providence, or grace? This best agrees with God
than with an earthly king; and is said of him elsewhere, Job_9:12.
JAMISO , "God’s very “word” is “power.” So the gospel word (Rom_1:16; Heb_
4:12).
who may say, etc. — (Job_9:12; Job_33:13; Isa_45:9; Dan_4:35). Scripture does
not ascribe such arbitrary power to earthly kings.
PULPIT, "Where the word of a king is, there is power. A further confirmation of
the last thought. More accurately, "Inasmuch as the word of a king is powerful"
(shilton, Ecc_8:8). This last word is used in Daniel (Dan_3:2) for "a lord," or
"ruler." The king does as he thinks fit because his mandate is all-powerful, and
must be obeyed, And who may say unto him, What doest thou? The same expression
is found applied to God (Job_9:12; Isa_45:9; Wis. 12:12). The absolute authority of
a despot is spoken of in the same terms as the irresistible power of Almighty God.
Εἰκὼν δὲ βασιλεύς ἐστιν ἔµψυχος Θεοῦ . "God's living image is an earthly king."
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Where the word of a king ii there is power.
The king’s word
The reference is, doubtless, to certain kings who lived in ancient times, perchance, for

instance, to Solomon himself. But we speak to-day not of an earthly ruler, but of a
heavenly. There is another King, one Jesus, who shares with His Father the throne of the
universe, whose word stands fast for ever. May we love Him so well, and trust Him so
perfectly, that His word, whatever it is, shall have due power with us. There is power in
it, and we shall do well to yield to it at once. Happy the subjects of this holy King whose
word while it is powerful is always sweet, and true, and tender.
I. Throughout his vast dominions the word of God and Christ exercises indisputable and
irresistible influence. How small are the kingdoms of this earth, how great and glorious
are the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. I know that as yet we see not all things
put under Him, but even now the sun never sets upon His kingdom, and countless
worlds, for aught we know, are rolling towards His feet. He is already “the blessed and
only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” Alike in nature, providence and
grace, He sits supreme. He is ordaining end ordering all things. Let your doubts and
fears be gone; He fainteth not, neither is He weary, He is neither sleeping nor hunting,
nor journeying. His sceptre is still in His hand, and the hand is not shrunken nor feeble.
While God lives and reigns all is well!
II. The word of a king has power—special power, perhaps—in his throne room. If God’s
word and Christ’s have power in any place, they may be supposed to have special
influence in the very centre of His palace. There He sits at His Father’s side, sharing the
Father’s glory, rejoicing in His well-deserved renown; His word has power there if
nowhere else. Elsewhere, rebellion may seek to lift its hideous head, but not there. The
angels wait upon Him, bright servitors, whose only joy it is to fly at His command, to do
His bidding, whatever it may be. The spirits of just men made perfect circle round Him,
serving Him day and night in His temple; men and women, aye, and little children too,
rejoice to run the errands of the King, and so to show their love; while mysterious living
creatures bow before His face and help to swell the anthem that ever rises to His praise.
III. Even when the King was travelling in disguise there was still power in His word. He
was King of hearts; He summoned men to join His train with just that irresistible
“Follow Me.” He was King of the elements, so that the winds and waves hearkened to His
voice, and laid themselves to rest like cowed beasts within their lairs. He was King of
disease, so that however virulent or longstanding, it fled and ceased at His command. He
was King of death: “Lazarus, co, me forth,” He cried, with a loud voice, and Lazarus
came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes. He was King of Satan, for though
the devil bade Him fall at his feet and worship him, Christ got the victory again and
again. He was King of sin, for only He could say to those who had long been dead in
trespasses and sins, “Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.” He was a King, every
inch of Him, from His cradle to His grave.
IV. The word of a king has special power in his audience chamber. In the palace of
which I speak, there is an apartment set aside for the special purpose of holding
interviews with those who would petition the king. To it subjects of every name, and
race, and degree, are always welcome; nay, our King, if I may so say, sits even in the gate,
so that applicants who have not boldness to venture to the palace can still approach
Him. There He stretches out His silver sceptre, welcoming all who have petitions to
present and pleas to urge. In this audience chamber the word of the King has power. He
permits you to pray, and that permit none can cancel. He gladly hears your arguments,
and if they are such as He has prompted, they will avail with Him. There is power in His
word of promise; He has never recalled one. He has never failed to fulfil one. “The gifts
and calling of God are without repentance.” He may keep you waiting a little while,
according to His wisdom, but the blessing is already on the wing. If your heart is open

for it, it will soon come fluttering in.
V. The word of a king is heard in his banqueting hall. Jesus is never so happy as when
He feasts His saints. He loves them to commune with Him, he rejoices when their
meditation of Him is sweet, and when, instead so much of speaking to Him, they employ
their spiritual powers in hearing and listening to His voice. There is power in every word
He speaks, power in the invitation that He issues, and in the welcome that He utters to
all. What a knack He has of making His guests feel at home. How readily He sets them at
their ease. How charmingly He makes them understand that all that He has is theirs,
that the good things on the table are net for ornament, but can be taken, tasted and
enjoyed.
VI. There is power is the king’s word, moreover, on the battlefield. “The Lord is a Man of
war; the Lord is His name.” He fights, as we do, with weapons that are not carnal but
spiritual. There is a sword that goeth out of His mouth, that is the word of the King’s
power. It strikes terror like a barbed arrow into the hearts of the King’s enemies. When
He sounds His battle cry, even Midian is put to confusion and to flight. On this same
battlefield He inspires His followers. If He says “Up guards and at them,” though we be
but a thin red line, we will charge the serried ranks of the enemy. If He bids us lie in the
trenches, though it may not be such congenial work, we will do it, for there is a power in
His word we dare not resist. There is, moreover, enabling power in it. We can hold
ourselves in reserve if God bids us do so. If He sends us out on pioneer work, or on
sentry-go—this is lonely work—we will do either, for there will be sufficient grace
whatever the King’s orders are. His very word is omnipotent, and we are omnipotent if
we obey it!
VII. There is power in the king’s word in foreign courts. We talk about “the Great
Powers of Europe.” Comparatively speaking they are powerful, with their armies and
their navies and their armaments and exchequers, but oh, there is a greater Power than
all of these of both worlds rolled into one. And we are servants of that great Power,
ambassadors of God who, in Christ’s stead warn arid rebuke and beseech. (T. Spurgeon.)
The word of a king
Kings in Solomon’s day had a vast amount of power, for their word was absolute. When
such a monarch happened to be wise and good, it was a great blessing to the people; for
“a king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.” But
if he was of a hard, tyrannical nature, his subjects were mere slaves, and groaned
beneath a yoke of iron. We do not sufficiently give thanks for the blessings of a
constitutional government. There is, however, one King whose power we do not wish in
any degree to limit or circumscribe. God doeth as He wills amongst the armies of
heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of this lower world; none can stay His hand, or say
unto Him, What doest Thou? In this we greatly rejoice.
I. First, we would see the power of the word of the Lord in order to excite our awe of
Him. What are we poor creatures of a day? Man proposes, but God disposes; man
resolves, but God dissolves; that which man expecteth, God rejecteth; for the word of the
Lord standeth for ever, but man passes away and is not. Think of the day before all days
when there was no day but the Ancient of Days, and when God dwelt all alone; then He
willed in His mind that there should be a world created. “He spake, and it was done: He
commanded, and it stood fast.” When the Lord created He used no hand of cherubim or
seraphim: all that we read in the sublimely simple record of Genesis is, “God said, let

Ecclesiastes 8 commentary

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Ecclesiastes 8 commentary