---
title: "Geneva Study Bible -  Ecclesiastes 8"
description: "8:1 Who [is] as the wise [man]? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face {a} to shine, and {b} the boldness of his fa"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8"
---

8:1 Who [is] as the wise [man]? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face {a} to shine, and {b} the boldness of his face shall be changed.
(a) That is, gets him favour and prosperity.
(b) While before he was proud and arrogant, he will become humble and meek.

8:2 I [counsel thee] to keep the king’s {c} commandment, and [that] in regard of the oath of God.
(c) That is, that you obey the king and keep the oath that you have made for the same cause.

8:3 {d} Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatever pleaseth him.
(d) Do not withdraw from yourself lightly from the obedience of your prince.

8:5 He who keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both {e} time and judgment.
(e) That is, when time is to obey, and how far he should obey.

8:6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the {f} misery of man [is] great upon him.
(f) Man by himself is miserable, and therefore should do nothing to increase the same, but to work all things by wisdom and counsel.

8:8 [There is] no man that hath power {g} over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither [hath he] power in the day of death: and [there is] no discharge in [that] war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
(g) Man has no power to save his own life and therefore must not rashly cast himself into danger.

8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: [there is] a time in which one man ruleth over another to his own {h} hurt.
(h) As comes often to tyrants and wicked rulers.

8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and {i} gone from the {k} place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this [is] also vanity.
(i) That is, others as wicked as they.
(k) They who feared God and worshipped him as he had appointed.

8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not {l} executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
(l) Where justice is delayed, there sin reigns.

8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are just [men], to whom it happeneth according to the {m} work of the wicked; again, there are wicked [men], to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also [is] vanity.
(m) Who are punished as though they were wicked, as in [Ecclesiastes 7:17](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/7/17)

8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than {n} to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
(n) Read Geneva "[Ecclesiastes 3:22](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/3/22)"

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Geneva Study Bible -  Ecclesiastes 8"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8","name":"Geneva Study Bible -  Ecclesiastes 8","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"8:1 Who [is] as the wise [man]? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face {a} to shine, and {b} the boldness of his fa","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible","name":"Geneva Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes","name":"Ecclesiastes"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/ecclesiastes/8","name":"8"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```