Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be , and submission to the dispensations of Providence . However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him. read more
I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment . The pronoun I stands in the Hebrew without a verb, and some take it as the answer to the question in Ecclesiastes 8:1 , "Who is like the wise man?" I, who am now teaching you. But it is better to regard the pronoun as emphasizing the following rule, supplying some verb, as, "Say, advise—I, for my part, whatever others may do or advise, I counsel thee;" the injunction being given in the imperative mood. The Septuagint and Syriac omit the... read more
Further advice concerning political behavior. Be not hasty to go out of his (the king's) sight . Do not, from some hasty impulse, or induced by harsh treatment, cast off your allegiance to your liege lord. We have the phrase, "go away," in the sense of quitting of service or desertion of a duty, in Genesis 4:16 ; Hosea 11:2 . So St. Peter urges servants to be subject unto their masters, "not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward" ( 1 Peter 2:18 ). Solomon might have... read more
Where the word of a king is, there is power. A further confirmation of the last thought. More accurately, "Inasmuch as the word of a king is powerful" ( shilton , Ecclesiastes 8:8 ). This last word is used in Daniel ( Daniel 3:2 ) for "a lord," or "ruler." The king does as he thinks fit because his mandate is all-powerful, and must be obeyed, And who may say unto him, What doest thou? The same expression is found applied to God ( Job 9:12 ; Isaiah 45:9 ; Wis. 12:12). The... read more
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing . This is an encouragement to obedience to royal authority (comp. Proverbs 24:21 , Proverbs 24:22 ; Romans 13:3 ). The context plainly shows that it is not God's commandment that is spoken of (though, of course, the maxim would be very true in this case), but the king's. Nor is it necessarily a servile and unreasoning obedience that is enjoined. Koheleth is dealing with generals. Such cases as that of Daniel and the three children,... read more
And who - Rather, and as he who knoweth. The possessor of wisdom excels other people: it imparts serenity to his countenance, and removes the expression of gloom or fierceness (see the marginal reference). read more
Oath - A reference to the oath of allegiance taken to Solomon at his accession to the throne (the margin of 1 Chronicles 29:24). read more
Stand not ... - i. e., “Do not persist in rebellion.” read more
Feel - literally, know. The meaning is, “He who obeys the commandment (i. e., the word of the king, Ecclesiastes 8:4), will not be an accomplice in any act of rebellion; and if he be a wise man he discerns (literally knows) that the king’s commandment or action is liable to correction, if it be wrong, in God’s time and by God’s judgment.” Compare Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ecclesiastes 3:17. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 8:1
Who is as the wise man? i . e . Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hosea 14:9 and Jeremiah 9:12 , "Who is wise?" but—No one Call be compared with a wise man; he has no compeer. And who [like him] knoweth the interpretation of a thing? Who, so well as the wise man, understands the proper relation of circumstances, sees... read more