--- title: "Ecclesiastes 8 - Study King James Bible with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary" description: "Read Ecclesiastes 8 with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary 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/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/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 “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 חכם מי , [Hosea 14:9](/kjv/hosea/14/9), [Jeremiah 11:11](/kjv/jeremiah/11/11), [Psalms 107:43](/kjv/psalms/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](/kjv/exodus/15/11), presents him as one who has not his like among men. Instead of כּה the word כּחכם might be used, after לחכם , [Ecclesiastes 2:16](/kjv/ecclesiastes/2/16), etc. The syncope is, as at [Ezekiel 40:25](/kjv/ezekiel/40/25), omitted, which frequently occurs, particularly in the more modern books, [Ezekiel 47:22](/kjv/ezekiel/47/22); [2 Chronicles 10:7](/kjv/2-chronicles/10/7); [2 Chronicles 25:10](/kjv/2-chronicles/25/10); [2 Chronicles 29:27](/kjv/2-chronicles/29/27); [Nehemiah 9:19](/kjv/nehemiah/9/19); [Nehemiah 12:38](/kjv/nehemiah/12/38). The regular giving of *Dagesh* to כ after מי , with *Jethib*, not *Mahpach*, is as at [Ecclesiastes 8:7](/kjv/ecclesiastes/8/7) after כּי ; Jethib is a disjunctive. The second question is not כּיודע , but יודע וּמי , 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 דּבר פּשׁר is meant of the understanding of the proverb, 8*b*. 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](/kjv/ecclesiastes/7/8): *cujusvis rei*. Ginsburg compares נבון דּבר , [1 Samuel 16:18](/kjv/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 פּשׁר 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](/kjv/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 1*a*, 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 [Psalms 119:130](/kjv/psalms/119/130) and [Psalms 19:9](/kjv/psalms/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](/kjv/ecclesiastes/2/13). The contrast, ישׁ ... עזו (“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 ישׁנּא can mean, like the Arab. yuthattay , *duplicatur*, still עז , in the meaning of brightness, is in itself, and especially with פּניו , impossible, along with which it is, without doubt, to be understood after az panim , [Deuteronomy 28:50](/kjv/deuteronomy/28/50); [Daniel 8:23](/kjv/daniel/8/23), and hē'ēz panim , [Proverbs 7:13](/kjv/proverbs/7/13), or bephanim , [Proverbs 21:29](/kjv/proverbs/21/29), so that thus פנים עז has the same meaning as the post-bibl. פנים עזּוּת , stiffness, hardness, rudeness of countenance = boldness, want of bashfulness, regardlessness, *e.g.*, *Shabbath* 30*b*, where we find a prayer in these words: O keep me this day from פנים עזי and from עזות פ (that I may not incur the former or the latter). The Talm. *Taanith* 7*b*, thus explaining, says: “Every man to whom עזות פ belongs, him one may hate, as the scripture says, ישּׂנא ... ועז (do not read ישׁנּא ).” 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 ישׁנּא 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 שׁנה ( שנא , [Lamentations 4:1](/kjv/lamentations/4/1)) means, [Malachi 3:6](/kjv/malachi/3/6), merely “to change, to become different;” the *Pih*. שׁנּה , [Jeremiah 52:33](/kjv/jeremiah/52/33), שׁנּא , [2 Kings 25:29](/kjv/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: לב אדם ישׁנּא פניו בּין לטוב וּבין לרע׃ so that thus שׁנּא , 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](/kjv/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](/kjv/ecclesiastes/8/1)* as of the nature of an epilogue to what goes before; parallels, such as [Hosea 14:9](/kjv/hosea/14/9), make that appear probable; but it cannot be yielded, because the words are not חכם מי , but מי כהח . But that which follows easily subordinates itself to [Ecclesiastes 8:1](/kjv/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. ```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/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/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/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8","name":"Ecclesiastes 8 - Study King James Bible with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Ecclesiastes 8 with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary 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/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/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/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary","name":"keil and delitzsch old testament commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes","name":"Ecclesiastes"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/ecclesiastes/8","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/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"]}]} ```