For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
Parallel Translations
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For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
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For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
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For he knoweth not that which shall be; for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him?
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 8:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 10:14 A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn’t know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?
- Proverbs 24:22 for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 9:12 For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
- Matthew 24:50 the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,
- Ecclesiastes 3:22 Therefore I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?
- Matthew 24:44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.
- Matthew 25:6-13 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
- Proverbs 29:1 He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall…
Ecc 8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
Ver. 7. For he knoweth not that which shall be.] Man’s misery is the greater because he cannot foresee to prevent it; but he is suddenly surprised and hit many times on the blind side, as we say.
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“ Nescia mens hominum fati sortisque futurae. ”
Men are in the dark in regard to future events. God only knows them, and is thereby oft in Isaiah distinguished from the dunghill deities of the heathens. In his mercy to his people he gave them prophets to tell how long, and when these failed the Church heavily bewails it. {Psa 74:9} Howbeit a prudent man "foreseeth an evil, and hideth himself." {Pro 22:3} {See Trapp on "Pro 22:3"} By the strength of his mind, saith Ambrose, {a} he presageth what will follow, and can define what in such or such a case he ought to do. Sometimes he turns over two or three things in his mind together, of which conjecturing that either all may come to pass jointly, or this or that severally, or whether they fall out jointly or severally, he can by his understanding so order his actions as that they shall be profitable to him.
{a} Amb. De Offic., lib. i. cap. 38.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Men are generally ignorant of all future events, and…
Men are generally ignorant of all future events, and of the success of their endeavours, and therefore their minds are greatly disquieted, and their expectations frequently disappointed, and they fall into many mistakes and miscarriages, which they could and would prevent if they did foresee the issues of things.
Who can tell him? no wise man, no astrologer or other artist, can discover this.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For he knoweth not that which shall be,.... Or…
For he knoweth not that which shall be,.... Or that "it shall be" (b); that he ever shall have the opportunity again he has lost, nor what is to come hereafter; what shall be on the morrow, or what shall befall him in the remaining part of his days; what troubles and sorrows he shall meet with, or what will be the case and circumstances of his family after his death;
for who can tell him when it shall be? or "how it shall be" (c)? how it will be with him or his; no one that pretends to judicial astrology, or to the art of divination, or any such devices, can tell him what is to come; future things are only certainly known by God; none but he can tell what will certainly come to pass; see Ecc 3:22; Jarchi interprets it of a man's not considering for what God will bring him to judgment, and that no man can tell him the vengeance and punishment that will be inflicted.
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(b) "quod futurum est", Pagninus, Montanus. (c) "quo modo", Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus, Rambachius, so Broughton.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain For - Men are generally ignorant of future events,…
For - Men are generally ignorant of future events, and therefore their minds are disquieted.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain When - Or, as in the margin. For the…
When - Or, as in the margin. For the meaning of this verse, compare marginal references.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Past. Protestants and Septuagint, "that shall be." (Haydock)
Past. Protestants and Septuagint, "that shall be." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain he--the sinner, by neglecting times (for example, "the accepted…
he--the sinner, by neglecting times (for example, "the accepted time, and the day of salvation, Co2 6:2), is taken by surprise by the judgment (Ecc 3:22; Ecc 6:12; Ecc 9:12). The godly wise observe the due times of things (Ecc 3:1), and so, looking for the judgment, are not taken by surprise, though not knowing the precise "when" (Th1 5:2-4); they "know the time" to all saving purposes (Rom 13:11).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. For he knoweth not — The tyrant knoweth…
7. For he knoweth not — The tyrant knoweth not, etc. He cannot see what will come of his own tyranny. The next scene in his drama has often been a dethronement, an exile, an assassination. Many such tyrants went down in ruin about the time of the Captivity; and they are always liable to terminate their fantastic tricks by some other than natural death.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. For he knoweth not that which shall be]…
7. For he knoweth not that which shall be] The subject of the sentence is apparently the wicked and tyrannous ruler. He goes on with infatuated blindness to the doom that lies before him. The same thought appears in the mediæval proverb, “Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat,” or, in our modern condemnation of the rulers or the parties, who “learn nothing, and forget nothing.” The temper condemned is that (1) of the cynical egoism, which says, “Apres moi, le deluge,” (2) of those who act, because judgment is delayed, as if it would never come.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For he knoweth not that which shall be. The…
For he knoweth not that which shall be. The subject may be man in general, or more probably the evil tyrant. The clause contains a third reason for patience. The despot cannot foresee the future, and goes on blindly filling up the measure of his iniquity, being unable to take any precautions against his inevitable fate. (Pro_24:22) Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat. For who can tell him when it shall be? rather, how it shall be. The fourth portion of the argument. The infatuated man knows not the time when the blow will fall, nor, as here, the manner in which the retribution will come, the form which it will take. Septuagint," For how it shall be, who will tell him?" The Vulgate paraphrases inaccurately, Quia ignorat prae-terita, et futura nullo scire potest nuntio, "Because he knoweth not the past, and the future he can ascertain by no messenger." Vers. 7-9.
The sorrowful tale of man"s misery upon the earth.
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I NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE. Neither himself can foresee, nor can any one inform him, either what shall be or how it shall be. Man"s acquaintance with the future amounts at best to a "perhaps.
II NO EXEMPTION FROM DEATH. This great truth stated in a threefold form.
1. No man can retain his spirit, or hold it back, when the hour strikes for it to be breathed forth, any more than he can hold back the winds of heaven when the moment has arrived for them to blow.
2. No man has power over the day of his dearly, to defer it, to remove it to a dim and distant future, or to hasten it to bring it near, any more than he has power over the day of his birth. His times both of coming into and of going out from the world are in God"s hand.
3. No man can procure a discharge from the war with the king of terrors, either for himself or another, any more than a conscript could escape the battle when drawn for service by an Oriental despot. All without exception must go forth to the final conflict. (Heb_9:27)
III NO ESCAPE FROM RETRIBUTION. The wicked may hope that in some way or other it may be possible for them to evade the due reward of their transgressions; but such hope is taken from them by the fact that God will one day bring every secret thing into judgment, whether it has been good, or whether it has been evil. (Ecc_12:14)
IV NO IMMUNITY FROM OPPRESSION. Though it cannot be affirmed that all are oppressed else where were the oppressors? yet it cannot be guaranteed beforehand that any one will not be oppressed, since "there is a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt" (ver. 9).
LESSONS.
1. Leave the future with God, and live in the present.
2. Prepare for that day which will come on all like a thief in the night.
3. So live that the recompense of the future will be that which belongs to righteousness.
4. Avoid being an oppressor, and rather be oppressed. Ver. 10.
Before, at, and after death; or, the wicked and the good a contrast.
I BEFORE DEATH. In the character of their lives. Each lives and acts in accordance with his character of soul.
1. The wicked acts wickedly. Spends his days
(1) without religion, having no fear of God before his eyes (Psa_36:1; Rom_3:18)
(2) without morality, taking pleasure in disobedience to God"s Law; (Eph_2:2 Eph_5:6)
(3) and without hope, (Eph_2:12) having no happy outlook beyond the grave.
2. The righteous acts rightly.
(1) Worshipping in the temple of the holy;
(2) learning in the school of the holy;
(3) walking in the ways of the holy; and
(4) cherishing the hopes of the holy. These different characteristics belong to the wicked and the righteous in all ranks and classes of society.
II AT DEATH. In the style of their funerals. Both come to the grave, the house appointed for all the living, (Job_30:23) like Dives and Lazarus; (Luk_16:22) perhaps after having lived respectively as these did the wicked clothing themselves in fine linen and faring sumptuously every day; the good lying in rags and sores at the rich man"s gate, and feeding on the crumbs from the rich man"s table. But from this point their paths and experiences diverge.
1. The wicked have a burial. They are borne to the place of sepulture with pomp and pageantry, and in presence of assembled crowds are committed to the dust. Wealth and honor wait upon them to their last resting-places, and do the utmost to provide quiet and peaceful couches for their lifeless corpses. Oftentimes, if not always, is this the fortune of the ungodly who have defied the Almighty, despised religion, insulted morality, and yet increased in riches and grown great in power.
2. The good simply go away. They vanish from the scene of their sufferings and labors, no one knows when or how. Whether they nave a funeral no one cares. Certainly their departure is not marked by long trains of mourners going about the streets. Their obsequies, conducted by angels, are not observed by the passing crowds of busy men on earth. This also is a frequent lot of good men at death, though it must not be assumed that good men are never carried to their graves amid lamentations and tears (2Ch_24:16; Act_8:2)
III AFTER DEATH. In the treatment of their memories. Both pass into the unseen, and have no more knowledge of what transpires on this side the veil. But their lots upon the other side are frequently as different from each other as before.
1. The wicked are remembered. Forgotten, it may be, and forsaken by God, but not by men who admired their splendor, and perhaps envied or feared their greatness when living.
2. The good are forgotten. Remembered indeed by God, but not by men, who suffer their names to pass into oblivion; as saith the poet
The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. ("Julius Caesar," act 3. sc. 2. )
LESSONS.
1. Study to live well by acting well.
2. Seek a lodging for thy soul when it must leave thy body.
3. Commit the care of thy memory to God and good men.
4. Envy neither the present nor the future lot of the wicked.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:7-8 Since our strength, goodness, and wisdom cannot forestall…
8:7-8 Since our strength, goodness, and wisdom cannot forestall calamity, turning to wickedness would certainly be futile.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.