Ecclesiastes 3:16

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without piety and the fear of God, is vanity. Take away religion, and there is nothing valuable among men, nothing for the sake of which a wise man would think it worth while to live in this world. In these verses he shows that power (than which there is nothing men are more ambitious of) and life itself (than which there is nothing men are more fond, more jealous of) are nothing without the fear of God. I. Here is the vanity of man as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16

And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment ,.... Courts of judicature, where judges sit, and, causes are brought before them, and are heard and tried; such as were the Jewish sanhedrim, of which the Midrash and Jarchi interpret it; that wickedness was there , wicked judges sat there, and wickedness was committed by them; instead of doing justice they perverted it; condemned the righteous, and acquitted the wicked; and oppressed the widow, fatherless, and stranger, whose... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:16

The plate of judgment, that wickedness was there - The abuse of power, and the perversion of judgment, have been justly complained of in every age of the world. The following paraphrase is good: - "But what enjoyment can our labors yield, When e'en the remedy prescribed by heaven To cure disorders proves our deadliest bane? When God's vicegerents, destined to protect The weak from insolence of power, to guard Their lives and fortunes, impious robbers turn? And, or by force or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Section 4. In confirmation of the truth that man's happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16

And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment . Koheleth records his experience of the prevalence of iniquity in high places. The place of judgment ( mishat ); where justice is administered. The accentuation allows (cf. Genesis 1:1 ) this to be regarded as the object of the verb. The Revised Version, with Hitzig, Ginsburg, and others, take מְקוֹם as an adverbial expression equivalent to "in the place." The former is the simpler construction. "And moreover," at the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Acknowledging the providential government of God, which controls events and places man's happiness out of his own power, one is confronted also by the fact that there is much wickedness, much injustice, in the world, which oppose all plans for peaceful enjoyment. Doubtless there shall be a day of retribution for such iniquities; and God allows them now in order to try men and to teach them humility. Meantime man's duty and happiness consist, as before said, in making the best use of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 3:16

Ecclesiastes 3:16. And moreover, &c. This is another argument of the vanity of worldly things, and a hinderance of that comfort which men expect in this life, because they are oppressed by their rulers. I saw the place of judgment In the thrones of princes, and tribunals of magistrates, where judgment should be duly executed. Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without the fear of God, is vanity. In these verses he shows that power, of which men are so ambitious,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Injustice in the world (3:16-4:3)Having acknowledged God’s order in human events, the writer now observes that the ‘order’ is, at times, not very orderly. For example, injustice abounds (16). Maybe, thinks the writer, God will put everything right in a judgment day in the afterlife (17). On the other hand, thinks he, there may not be an afterlife. He observes that people die the same as animals, as if God is trying to show that they are no different from the beasts. Also, he asks, can it be... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 3:16

under the sun. See note on Ecclesiastes 1:1 . wickedness = lawlessness. Hebrew. rasha'. App-44 . iniquity. Same word as "wickedness" above. Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-6 ). read more

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