Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 NIV
1Who is like the wise?
Who
knows the explanation of things?
A
person’s wisdom brightens their face
and
changes its hard appearance.
Obey the King
2 Obey the King’s Command, I say, because you took
an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the King’s Presence.
Do not stand up for a bad cause, for He will do whatever He pleases. 4 Since a King’s Word is Supreme, who can say to
Him, “What are You doing?”
5Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the
wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though
a person may be weighed down by misery.
7Since no one knows the future,
who can
tell someone else what is to come?
8As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
As no
one is discharged in time of war,
so
wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under
the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his ownb hurt. 10Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who
used to come and go from the holy place and receive praisec in the city where they did this. This too
is meaningless.
11When the sentence for a crime is not
quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12Although a wicked person who commits a
hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those
who fear God, who are reverent before Him. 13Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it
will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14There is something else meaningless that
occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked
who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15So I commend the enjoyment of life, because
there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be
glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God
has given them under the sun.
16When I applied my mind to know wisdom and
to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or
night— 17then I saw all that God has done. No one
can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search
it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they
cannot really comprehend it.
Obey the King’s Command, I say, because you took
an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the King’s presence.
Do not stand up for a bad cause, for He will do whatever He pleases. Since a
King’s Word is supreme, who can say to Him, “What are You doing?
I counsel you to keep the king's commandment Or “to observe the mouth of the king”; what he says, and do according to it
when it is agreeably to the Law of God, and according to the laws of the
kingdom, by which he is to govern; for kings are to be honored, obeyed, and
submitted to, in the lawful discharge of their office: and such counsel and
advice as this is wholesome; and, being taken, contributes much, as to the honor
of kings, so to the good of kingdoms and states, and to a man's own peace and
comfort.
And indeed, to
understand it, not of an earthly king, but of the King of kings, as it is understood by other interpreters
also, suits better with what is said of this King in the following verses; Whose
commandments, which are not grievous, but to be loved above fine gold, should
be kept from a principle of love, as they are delivered out by Him, and to His
Glory; and such a charge as this should be attended to, and such counsel should
be received.
And that in regard of
the oath of God; Who has sworn, that if His children forsake His Law, and walk
not in His statutes, He will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their
iniquities with stripes; and therefore should be careful to keep His Commandments, Psalm 89:30. Those who
interpret this of an earthly king, by the oath of God understand the oath of
allegiance and fidelity to him, taken in the name and presence of God, and
therefore for conscience's sake should obey him.
Do not be hasty to go out of His Sight - The Sight of the King of kings.
Do not think to hide yourself from Him, for there is no fleeing from His Presence, Psalm 139:7. It is best, as the word signifies, or under
some fearful apprehension of His Wrath and Indignation, to fall down before Him,
acknowledge the offence, and pray for pardon.
And to this purpose is the
Targum (See notes at bottom);
“And in the time of
the indignation of the Lord, do not cease to pray before Him; being terrified before
Him, go and pray, and seek mercy of Him”.
“Do not be troubled,
saying that you will go and free from His Presence, to a place where He does
not rule, for He rules in every place.”
Such who interpret
this of an earthly king suppose this forbids a man going out from the presence
of a king in a passion, withdrawing himself from his court and service in a
heat at once. Do not stand in an evil thing - Having done it, do not continue
in it; but repent of it, acknowledge and forsake it, whether against God or an
earthly king.
Notes
The targumim (singular: "targum", Hebrew: תרגום), were spoken paraphrases, explanations, and expansions of the Jewish scriptures that a Rabbi would give in the common language of the listeners, which during the time of this practice was commonly, but not exclusively, Aramaic. This had become necessary near the end of the last century before the Christian era, as the common language was in transition and Hebrew was used for little more than schooling and worship.
Notes
The targumim (singular: "targum", Hebrew: תרגום), were spoken paraphrases, explanations, and expansions of the Jewish scriptures that a Rabbi would give in the common language of the listeners, which during the time of this practice was commonly, but not exclusively, Aramaic. This had become necessary near the end of the last century before the Christian era, as the common language was in transition and Hebrew was used for little more than schooling and worship.
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