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Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 8:14

Ecclesiastes 8:14. There is a vanity— After a long but useful digression (See on Ecclesiastes 8:8.) the author resumes the thread of his reasoning: but the second proof that he brings in to support this third proposition is so artfully connected with the latter part of the digression, that no chasm is to be perceived in the discourse. This second proof is taken from those wrong judgments which are owing to an over-hasty observation of things, and consists of two instances. The first instance is... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 8:14

14. An objection is here started (entertained by Solomon in his apostasy), as in Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 7:15, to the truth of retributive justice, from the fact of the just and the wicked not now receiving always according to their respective deserts; a cavil, which would seem the more weighty to men living under the Mosaic covenant of temporal sanctions. The objector adds, as Solomon had said, that the worldling's pursuits are "vanity" (Ecclesiastes 7:15- :), "I say (not 'said') this... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

B. God’s Inscrutable Plan chs. 7-8Solomon proceeded in this section to focus on the comprehensive plan of God: His decree. His point was that we cannot fathom it completely. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 8:10-14

There are two apparent inequities in Ecclesiastes 8:10. First, the wicked get an honorable burial. Second, people soon forget the godly. These verses provide instances of exceptions to the retribution doctrine. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ecclesiastes 8:10-17

The limitations of Wisdom 8:10-17Wisdom can enable a person to avoid the king’s wrath (Ecclesiastes 8:2-9), but it cannot enable him or her to understand fully why God deals with people as He does (Ecclesiastes 8:10-17). read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

Kings’Courts Need Wary Walking1-17. Be discreet in relation with a ruler. God’s purpose must be carried out. His rule must be righteous, though this is often not seen in actual life. God’s ways are just, and past finding out.The writer now enters on a subject which it would not have been wise to treat too plainly, viz. the need of showing tact in dealing with the arbitrary power of an absolute monarch. No part of the book is more decidedly at variance with the Solomonic authorship than this... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Ecclesiastes 8:14

(14) Happeneth.—The word is used in this sense only in Esther 9:26. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

Ecclesiastes 8:8 Compare Ruskin's Time and Tide (Letter xxiv.) for an application of the words, There is no discharge in that war; also Kipling's The Five Nations, pp. 185 f. References. VIII. 8. S. H. Tying, American Pulpit of Today, vol. i. p. 623. VIII. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 200. Ecclesiastes 8:11 . Cf. Ecclesiastes 7:7 , etc. Swift once asked Delany whether the 'corruptions and villanies of men in power did not eat his flesh and exhaust his spirits?' 'No,' said Delany.... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 8:1-15

THIRD SECTIONThe Quest Of The Chief Good In Wealth, And In The Golden Mean Ecclesiastes 6:1-12; Ecclesiastes 7:1-29, and Ecclesiastes 8:1-15IN the foregoing Section Coheleth has shown that the Chief Good is not to be found in that Devotion to the affairs of Business which was, and still is, characteristic of the Hebrew race. This devotion is commonly inspired either by the desire to amass great wealth, for the sake of the status, influence, and means of lavish enjoyment it is assumed to confer;... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

; Ecclesiastes 8:1-17The Quest in the Golden Mean.Ecclesiastes 7:1-29; Ecclesiastes 8:1-15There be many that say, "Who will show us any gold?" mistaking gold for their god or good. For though there can be few in any age to whom great wealth is possible, there are many who crave it and believe that to have it is to possess the supreme felicity. It is not only the rich who "trust in riches." As a rule, perhaps, they trust in them less than the poor, since they have tried them, and know pretty... read more

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