Ecclesiastes 8:5 - Exposition

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, where obedience would have been sinful, are not here taken into consideration. "Shall feel," literally, "shall know," i . e . experience no physical evil. Quiet submission to the powers that be guarantees a peaceful and happy life. Ginsburg and others translate, "knoweth not an evil word," i . e . is saved from abuse and reproach, which seems somewhat meager, though the Septuagint gives, οὐ γνώσεται ῥῆμα πονηρόν . The Vulgate is better, Non experietur quidquam malt . And a wise man's heart discerneth ( knoweth ) both time and judgment. The verb is the same in both clauses, and ought to have been so translated. The "heart" includes the moral as well as the intellectual faculties; and the maxim says that the wise man bears oppression and remains unexcited even in evil days, because he is convinced that there is a time of judgment coming when all will be righted ( Ecclesiastes 12:14 ). The certainty of retributive justice is so strong in his mind that he does not resort to rebellion in order to rectify matters, but possesses his soul in patience, leaving the correction of abuses in God's hands. Septuagint, "The wise man's heart knoweth the time of judgment," making a hendiadys of the two terms. The Vulgate has tempus et responsionem , "time and answer."