10 And so I have seen the wicked buried, and they went in, even from the Holy Place they go, and they are forgotten in the city whether they had so done. This also `is' vanity.
For the living know that they die, and the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward, for their remembrance hath been forgotten.
The remembrance of the righteous `is' for a blessing, And the name of the wicked doth rot.
And he cometh in, and eateth, and drinketh, and saith, `Look after, I pray you, this cursed one, and bury her, for she `is' a king's daughter.' And they go to bury her, and have not found of her except the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands.
They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
I have been forgotten as dead out of mind, I have been as a perishing vessel.
A Song of the Ascents, by David. I have rejoiced in those saying to me, `To the house of Jehovah we go.' Our feet have been standing in thy gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem -- the builded one -- `Is' as a city that is joined to itself together. For thither have tribes gone up, Tribes of Jah, companies of Israel, To give thanks to the name of Jehovah. For there have sat thrones of judgment, Thrones of the house of David.
The hope of Israel `is' Jehovah, All forsaking Thee are ashamed, And `My apostates' in the earth are written, For they have forsaken Jehovah, A fountain of living waters.
`And it came to pass, that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the messengers to the bosom of Abraham -- and the rich man also died, and was buried;
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.