--- title: "Ecclesiastes 8 - Study King James Bible with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible" description: "Read Ecclesiastes 8 with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible commentary. 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 ch" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8" --- [ Read](/kjv/ecclesiastes/8)[ Commentary](/study/ecclesiastes/8)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/ecclesiastes/8) Audio 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.* 2 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?* 8 *There is* no man that hath power 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.* 9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: *there is* a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. 10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this *is* also vanity. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 ¶ Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his *days* be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong *his* days, *which are* as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. 14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just *men*, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked *men*, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also *is* vanity. 15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than 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. 16 ¶ When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also *there is that* neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) 17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek *it* out, yet he shall not find *it;* yea further; though a wise *man* think to know *it*, yet shall he not be able to find *it*. [Ecclesiastes 7](/study/ecclesiastes/7) [Ecclesiastes 9](/study/ecclesiastes/9) ## Commentary To verse 1 **1.** Praise of true wisdom continued ([Ecclesiastes 7:11](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/11), c.). "Who" is to be accounted "equal to the wise man? . . . Who (like him) knoweth the interpretation" of God's providences (for example, [Ecclesiastes 7:8](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/8) [Ecclesiastes 7:13](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/13); [Ecclesiastes 7:14](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/14)), and God's word (for example, see on [Ecclesiastes 7:29](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/29); [Ecclesiastes 7:29](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/29)- :)? **face to shine**— ([Ecclesiastes 7:14](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/14); [Acts 6:15](/kjv/acts/6/15)). *A sunny countenance,* the reflection of a tranquil conscience and serene mind. Communion with God gives it ([Exodus 34:29](/kjv/exodus/34/29); [Exodus 34:30](/kjv/exodus/34/30)). **boldness**—austerity. **changed**—into a benign expression by true wisdom (religion) ([Exodus 34:30](/kjv/exodus/34/30)- :). MAURER translates, "The *shining* (brightness) of his face is *doubled,*" arguing that the *Hebrew* noun for "boldness" is never used in a bad sense ([Exodus 34:30](/kjv/exodus/34/30)- :). Or as *Margin,* "strength" ([Ecclesiastes 7:19](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/19); [Isaiah 40:31](/kjv/isaiah/40/31); [2 Corinthians 3:18](/kjv/2-corinthians/3/18)). But the adjective is used in a bad sense ([2 Corinthians 3:18](/kjv/2-corinthians/3/18)- :). ```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/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8","name":"Ecclesiastes 8 - Study King James Bible with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Ecclesiastes 8 with commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible commentary. 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 ch","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-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/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible","name":"commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes","name":"Ecclesiastes"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ecclesiastes/8","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-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"]}]} ```