12 Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, because they fear before him;
But the meek shall possess the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of prosperity.
All [this] have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a righteous [man] that perisheth by his righteousness, and there is a wicked [man] that prolongeth [his days] by his wickedness.
[the] Lord knows [how] to deliver the godly out of trial, and to keep [the] unjust to [the] day of judgment [to be] punished;
And if God, minded to shew his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction;
Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from [the] world's foundation:
There shall be no more thenceforth an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not completed his days; for the youth shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof: they shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for terror; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
I know that whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever; there is nothing to be added to it, nor anything to be taken from it; and God doeth [it], that [men] should fear before him.
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall cause them to perish. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil.
Then shall he say also to those on the left, Go from me, cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I hungered, and ye gave me not to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me not to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye did not clothe me; ill, and in prison, and ye did not visit me. Then shall *they* also answer saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or ill, or in prison, and have not ministered to thee? Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it to one of these least, neither have ye done it to me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous into life eternal.
and his mercy [is] to generations and generations to them that fear him.
thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, my servants shall eat, and *ye* shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and *ye* shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, and *ye* shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall sing aloud for gladness of heart, and *ye* shall cry out for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God cometh forth from them all.
And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?
He will bless them that fear Jehovah, both the small and the great.
Hallelujah! Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established, it shall not be moved.
And a man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the fastenings and the corslet. And he said to his charioteer, Turn thy hand, and drive me out of the camp; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day; and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died at even; and the blood of the wound ran out into the hollow of the chariot.
And thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and upon his sandals that were on his feet. And thou shalt do according to thy wisdom, and not let his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. But shew kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table; for so they came up to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. And behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day that I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Jehovah saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. And now hold him not guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and thou shalt know what thou oughtest to do to him; but bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
Solomon, in this chapter, comes to recommend wisdom to us as the most powerful antidote against both the temptations and vexations that arise from the vanity of the world. Here is,
Ecc 8:1-5
Here is,
Ecc 8:6-8
Solomon had said (v. 5) that a wise man's heart discerns time and judgment, that is, a man's wisdom will go a great way, by the blessing of God, in moral prognostications; but here he shows that few have that wisdom, and that even the wisest may yet be surprised by a calamity which they had not any foresight of, and therefore it is our wisdom to expect and prepare for sudden changes. Observe,
Ecc 8:9-13
Solomon, in the beginning of the chapter, had warned us against having any thing to do with seditious subjects; here, in these verses, he encourages us, in reference to the mischief of tyrannical and oppressive rulers, such as he had complained of before, ch. 3:16; 4:1.
Ecc 8:14-17
Wise and good men have, of old, been perplexed with this difficulty, how the prosperity of the wicked and the troubles of the righteous can be reconciled with the holiness and goodness of the God that governs the world. Concerning this Solomon here gives us his advice.