Ecclesiastes 8

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Ecclesiastes 8

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 farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>Who is like the wise person. Who in the world is as important as a wise man? And who knows how to interpret things. [I.e.,] the solution פִּשְׁרוֹן of things,¹Alternatively, and “who is like the one who knows how to interpret things.” (Metsudas Dovid) as we find regarding Daniyeil, because of his wisdom, for he was wise in the fear of Heaven, secret solutions פִּשְׁרוֹן were revealed to him. Who is like Moshe, who brought about compromises between Yisroel and their Father in Heaven? And the boldness of his face is changed. From that of other people, to the extent that they feared “to approach him” [Moshe], “because the skin of his face was radiant.”²Shemos 34:29, 30. ³Alternatively, wisdom begets humility and does away with anger and arrogance (Ibn Ezra). Or, because of his wisdom, everyone admires and obeys him, giving him a jubilant countenance. (Metsudas Dovid) </html>

Verse 2

<html>My [advice to you is] keep the King’s command. Therefore, I need to and I am prepared to observe the commandment of the King of the Universe, which is the best of them all. And do so because of the oath to God. Which we swore to Him at Choreiv, to keep His commandments. Another explanation: I am prepared to observe the command of the kings of the nations who rule over us with head taxes and property taxes. And do so because of the oath to God. Provided that they do not cause us to violate the oath [of allegiance] that we swore to the Omnipresent. And do so because of [the oath]. And alongside the oath of God, I will keep the command of the kings.⁴I.e., I will obey the command of kings as long as it does not conflict with the oath of allegiance that we swore to God. And similarly we find with Chananyah, Mishaeil, and Azaryah, who said to Nevuchadnetzar, “they said, ‘O King Nevuchadnetzar, we are not worried about replying to you about this matter.’”⁵Daniyeil 3:16. If he was king why [call him] “Nevuchadnetzar,” and if Nevuchadnetzar, why [call him] “king”? But, this is what they said to him, “We say to you that you are our ‘king’ regarding work and the head taxes, but regarding your ordering us to worship idols, you are ‘Nevuchadnetzar,’ and not king.” </html>

Verse 3

<html>Do not hasten to leave His Presence. Do not be hasty and say that you intend to flee from His Presence to a place where He does not reign, for He reigns everywhere. Do not persist in doing evil. Do not persist to engage in evil matters.⁶Alternatively, “do not pause at a bad thing,” i.e., an inauspicious verse. When reading from the Torah, the reader should begin and/or end at a good matter, e.g., he may stop in the middle of section dealing with blessings. However, he may not stop in the middle of the section dealing with curses, but he must read them all without interruption. (Midrash) For whatever pleases Him. To mete retribution upon you, He has the authority and ability to do so. </html>

Verse 4

<html>For the King’s word is all powerful. Because the word of the Holy One, Blessed Is He is the Ruler, and who will say to Him, “What are You doing?” But if you “preserve the commandment,”⁷Below, verse 5. you will know no evil and it will not befall you.⁸Alternatively, verses 3-4 refer to a mortal king and are translated accordingly. (Metsudas Dovid) </html>

Verse 5

<html>And [the significance of] time and judgment is known by the wise man. The wise person perceives that there is a predetermined time for the visitation of punishment upon the wicked, and there are judgments before the Holy One, Blessed Is He, with which He will exact justice from them. Judgment is justice in O.F., and it refers to the punishment. </html>

Verse 6

<html>For every matter. When a person satisfies his desire and transgresses the law, a time to exact retribution [is cast], and justice and punishment are ready. When the evil of man overwhelms him. When man’s evil becomes exceedingly overwhelming and his measure overflows, then his punishment arrives; ‘וְכִי’ is used as an expression of “when,” as in, “When כִּי they have a concern, it comes to me.”⁹Shemos 18:16. </html>

Verse 7

<html>For he knows not what will be. When the wicked man sins, he does not give thought that the Holy One, Blessed Is He, is destined to bring him to judgment, and woe is to him because of this.¹⁰Alternatively, man is unable to foresee specific future events. Ibn Ezra For when it comes to pass. The punishment, “who will tell him,” [i.e.,] to discuss [the matter] with him and to take advice and to ask permission, for it will suddenly befall him.¹¹Alternatively, when a person is about to sin, who will forewarn him of the consequences so that he will be more cautious. (Sforno) </html>

Verse 8

<html>Man has no power over the spirit. [I.e., over] the spirit and inclination of the emissary¹²I.e., the angel of death. We find the term רוח [=spirit] referring to angels in Tehillim 104:4, “He makes the רוחות His messengers.” of the Omnipresent, to retain and withhold from him the spirit in his body, so that the angel of death should not take it. He has no power. [The power] of any king [is not] discernable on the day of his death.¹³Alternatively, all the power of the ruler is thwarted on the day of his death, i.e., to save himself from death. Everywhere [in Scripture] you find [that Dovid is referred to as], “King Dovid,” but on the day of his death [it states], “And the days of Dovid drew near that he should die,”¹⁴I Melochim 2:1. and no kingship is mentioned here.¹⁵Though in Shemos 2:23 it states “the king of Egypt died,” that is speaking of a historic event that happened in the past, however, when Scripture speaks of the event as it is occurring, kingship is not mentioned. (Likutei Yehudah) Nor dispatch in battle. [In] this [battle by] saying, “I will send my son or my servant instead of me.”¹⁶Rashi interprets משחת as dispatch or send [שלוח]. Alternatively, משחת means weaponry, as in II Divrei Hayomim 32:5 and Nechemyah 4:11. Accordingly, this phrase means that weaponry [prepared for war] is of no avail to save one who is destined to die. </html>

Verse 9

<html>All this I have seen. What is mentioned above. And I applied my heart to [understand] all the work. And also to all mankind’s work I applied my mind, and I saw the time that a man ruled over another and overpowered him, and ultimately it turned to his own detriment.¹⁷Because, “God seeks the pursued,” see above 3:15. [E.g.,] Amoleik overpowered Yisroel, and ultimately [it states about Amoleik], “and his end will be that he will be lost forever.”¹⁸Bamidbar 24:20. And the same happened to Pharaoh, and the same with Nevuchadnetzar, and the same with Sancheiriv. </html>

Verse 10

<html>And so. And then. I have seen how the wicked were buried. In this prophecy, I saw wicked men buried, who were worthy of being buried in the dust, for they were held in contempt by the nations, about whom it is stated, “this people has never been,”¹⁹Yeshayahu 23:13. and they ruled over the Beis [Hamikdosh] of the Holy One, Blessed Is He, which is a holy place. And when they went from there to their land, they boasted in their city that they did such and such in the Beis [Hamikdosh] of the Omnipresent. Do not read ‘וְיִשְׁתַּכְּחוּ’, [=and they will be forgotten,] but ‘וְיִשְׁתַּבְּחוּ’, [=and they will boast]. So did our Rabbis of blessed memory expound it.²⁰See Maseches Gittin 56b. Concerning the forgetting,²¹I.e., the wording of the written text [וישתכחו]. it is expounded as follows in the Aggadah: And ultimately, their name and their remembrance will be forgotten from that very city, that they did so therein, as it is stated, “I will gather all the nations [and I will take them down] to the Valley of Yehoshophot.”²²Yoel 4:2. In the place where they angered Him, He will mete out retribution upon them, and so it states, “O Adonoy, in the city, You will despise their form.”²³Tehillim 73:20. This too. Is one of the vanities that were given to the world to weary mankind, for the Holy One, Blessed Is He, does not rush to mete out retribution upon evildoers, and [therefore] mankind thinks that there is neither judgment nor Judge. </html>

Verse 11

<html>Because the execution of sentence. Punishment for the evil deeds [is not done] quickly. For the Holy One, Blessed Is He, does not rush to mete out retribution upon the evildoers, and therefore, they think that there is no judgment, and they are encouraged to do evil. </html>

Verse 12

<html>Though a sinner, etc. Because they see that the sinner does evil a hundred thousand and myriads [of times], and the Holy One, Blessed Is He, grants him an extension without meting out retribution.²⁴As Iyov [24:12] complained, “From the city people groan, and the souls of the slain cry out; yet God does not impute it for unseemliness.” (Metsudas Dovid) A hundred times. This is an ellipsis,²⁵I.e., the omission of a word or words necessary for complete construction but understood in the context. and it is connected to [the words] preceding it, meaning, a hundred days, a hundred years, a hundred thousand. And similarly, [what Scripture states], “and drunk וּשְׁכֻרַת,”²⁶Yeshayahu 51:21. is an ellipsis, and it is missing drunk “from wrath” but not from wine, like other drunkenness. Nevertheless I know. For despite all this, that He does not rush to mete retribution upon the wicked to make a distinction, between the righteous and the wicked, I know that each one will ultimately receive his due, and that those who fear Him will fare well. </html>

Verse 13

<html>And it will not be well with the wicked. Because he does not fear God.²⁷Based on this verse, the Gemara in Kiddushin 33b states that any scholar who does not rise before his teacher is considered wicked, will not live long and will forget his learning. </html>

Verse 14

<html>There is a vanity. Something that confounds mankind. There are righteous men. To whom evil happens [as though] they acted wickedly, and there are wicked to whom good happens [as though] they acted righteously.²⁸Alternatively, there are righteous men who acquire a bad reputation as though they acted wickedly, is referring to a foolish righteous person who takes the practices of his piety to ridiculous levels (Sforno). Mesilas Yeshorim states that one must not decide upon the saintliness of a deed on the basis of its surface appearance alone, rather he should view the deed, including its consequence(s), from every angle of human intelligence, and then determine whether or not to perform the deed. I said that this too is one of the vanities that prevails in the world. However, our Rabbis expounded it in a different manner in Maseches Horiyos,²⁹10b. but it is not explained satisfactorily to me, according to the words that the wise man concludes by saying, “This too is vanity.” </html>

Verse 15

<html>Rejoicing. That he should be happy with in his lot³⁰Alternatively, I extolled the virtuous trait of rejoicing, i.e., the trait of being able to accept every occurrence in life with happiness and joy. (Derech Hachayim) and engage in the “upright commands,” which “cause the heart to rejoice,”³¹Tehillim 19:9. and he should not be immersed in increasing his wealth by means of usury, interest and robbery.³²The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos 30b sees an apparent contradiction between this verse which extolls the concept of rejoicing, and the verse above [2:2], which states, “and of joy, what does it accomplish.” The Gemara explains that the verse here is speaking of a celebration or rejoicing of a mitzvah, e.g., a marriage, therefore rejoicing is extolled, whereas verse 2:2 above speaks of rejoicing without purpose, and is therefore frowned upon. Whoever is not happy with his lot and is immersed in amassing wealth, eventually commits the sins of robbery, fraud, and usury. Also, one who is not happy with his lot concerning the love of this wife, is immersed in [a passionate lust for] women, and harbors sinful thoughts about married women. To eat and drink. From that which the Holy One, Blessed Is He, graciously granted him, and to be happy with his lot. And the Midrash Aggadah [states], that all mention of “eating and drinking” in Koheles, refers only to the study of Torah, as the matter is stated, “go, buy, and eat, etc.”³³Yeshayahu 55:1. And this will accompany him. Will join him, as the matter is stated, “and your righteousness shall go before you.”³⁴Ibid. 58:8. [All] the days of his life which God has given him. He shall do so, and the end of the verse is connected to its beginning, and it is a transposed verse [whose meaning is], “there is nothing better for man in [all] the days of his life that God has given him than to eat and drink and be joyful, and this will accompany him in his toil.” </html>

Verse 16

<html>When I applied my heart. This “כַּאֲשֶׁר” is not used as an expression of an example, as in, “as כַּאֲשֶׁר he did, so shall it be done,”³⁵Vayikra 24:19. rather it is an expression of time, as in, “When כַּאֲשֶׁר Yoseif came,”³⁶Bereishis 37:23. [and as in,] “when כַּאֲשֶׁר they finished eating, etc.”³⁷Ibid. 43:2. This too is so, When כַּאֲשֶׁר I applied my heart “to know, to explore, etc.,”³⁸Above 7:25. then, “I saw all the works of God.” [Neither] does he see sleep with his eyes. The wicked person³⁹According to Rashi, the subject of the phrase, “neither does he sleep…,” is the wicked person, who does not sleep because he is so engrossed in his activities. Alternatively, שנה [=sleep] can also be a reference to death, as in Daniyeil 12:2, “many of those who sleep [מישני] in the dusty earth [i.e., the dead] will awaken.” The wicked person never considers his death, and that ultimately, he will have to give a reckoning for his activities, and therefore he does not repent. who has a passionate lust for money and for forbidden women.⁴⁰Alternatively, the subject of this phrase is Koheles, who says that he was so engrossed in his study “to know wisdom and to observe etc.” that sleep eluded him. (Ibn Ezra) </html>

Verse 17

<html>And I saw all the works of God. That He gave over to mankind. That man cannot discover, etc. Mankind is unable to fathom the ways of the Holy One, Blessed Is He, what the reward is for all the work that is done under the sun, for they see wicked men prospering and righteous men declining. And though a man labor to seek. Because I saw many [people] toiling to seek and to fathom this matter, but they are unable. And even though a wise man declares. That he understands it, he will not be able to, for Moshe our teacher could not comprehend this matter,⁴¹Even a wise man is unable to fathom the ways of God. (Metsudas Dovid) when he said, “please make Your way known to me.”⁴²Shemos 33:13.</html>

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Table of Contents

Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes 8

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17