Ecclesiastes 8:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
fear
יִֽירְא֖וּyi.re.'U
H3372
to fear · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
before
מִלְּפָנָֽיוmi.le.fa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Luke 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Psalms 37:18-19 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Ecclesiastes 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that pro…
Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men s…
Isaiah 3:10-11 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Isaiah 65:20-24 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old;…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 8:9-13
Solomon, in the beginning of the chapter, had warned us against having any thing to do with seditious subjects; here, in these verses, he encourages us, in reference to the mischief of tyrannical and oppressive rulers, such as he had complained of before, Ecc 3:16; Ecc 4:1.
1. He had observed many such rulers, Ecc 8:9. In the serious views and reviews he had taken of the children of men and their state he had observed that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt; that is, (1.) To the hurt of the ruled (many understand it so); whereas they ought to be God's ministers unto their subjects for their good (Rom 13:14), to administer justice, and to preserve the public peace and order, t…
He says this, lest the sinner should abuse the statement (Ecc 7:15), "A wicked man prolongeth his life."
before him--literally, "at His presence"; reverently serve Him, realizing His continual presence.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times,.... That is ever so many times, a certain number for an uncertain; though he lives in a continued course of sin, being resolved upon the above consideration to give himself a swing to his lusts. The Targum renders it a hundred years; though be should live so long in sin, yet at last should be accursed Isaiah 65:20. This and what follows are said to check the boldness and presumption of the sinner upon the patience of God; and to make the people of God easy under the delay of justice, and the prosperity of the wicked;
and his days be prolonged: or rather, "and he prolongs unto him" (o); that is, God prolongs unto him, not days only, but the execution…
"Who is like the wise? and who understandeth the interpretation of things? The wisdom of a man maketh his face bright, and the rudeness of his face is changed." Unlike this saying: "Who is like the wise?" are the formulas חכם מי, Hos 14:9, Jer 11:11, Psa 107:43, which are compared by Hitzig and others. "Who is like the wise?" means: Who is equal to him? and this question, after the scheme מי־כמכה, Exo 15:11, presents him as one who has not his like among men. Instead of כּה the word כּחכם might be used, after לחכם, Ecc 2:16, etc. The syncope is, as at Eze 40:25, omitted, which frequently occurs, particularly in the more modern books, Eze 47:22; Ch2 10:7; Ch2 25:10; Ch2 29:27; Neh 9:19; Neh 1…
The Church Fathers
"Because a sinner does what is wrong an hundred times and He is patient with him, yet nevertheless I am aware that it will be well with those who fear God that they may fear Him. "Because a sinner has done many wicked deeds, this is what is meant by, 'an hundred times': God gives a time for repentance, and does not punish him immediately for his crime, but he waits so that he is converted by his wickedness. I understand how good-willing and forgiving God will be to those who fear Him and tremble at His word. Symmachus translated this passage as, "For a sinner dies wicked, long-life is granted him". More precisely I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear His face, but it will not be well for the wicked, and he will not live long, for he does not fear God. And because what Symmachus translated is clear, we can say that the Hebrew word "maath "is what the Septuagint has translated as 'from then on', which we have here as 'an hundred times'. Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion have interpreted 'he has died' as "he has sinned and done evil, and is dead", because for that which he sinned, he immediately dies. But according to the interpretation of the Septuagint, instead of 'he is dead' we read 'from then on', and according to that interpretation, the meaning is, 'a sinner does not sin at first when he seems to sin, but already even before he has sinned': "Sinners are estranged from the womb, they have erred since they were in the stomach" [Ps. 57, 4.]. And they ask this that follows- "they have spoken falsity", just as he explains for a simple understanding, there seems to be no reason that child sinners speak lies as soon as they come out of the womb.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fear, Godly · Advantages of — Advantages of
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Injustice is momentary and does not upset God’s plans for justice (3:16-17; 12:14). In reality, wickedness does not pay.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner, etc. Because they see that the sinner does evil a hundred thousand and myriads [of times], and the Holy One, Blessed Is He, grants him an extension without meting out retribution.24As Iyov [24:12] complained, “From the city people groan, and the souls of the slain cry out; yet God does not impute it for unseemliness.” (Metsudas Dovid)
A hundred times. This is an ellipsis,25I.e., the omission of a word or words necessary for complete construction but understood in the context. and it is connected to [the words] preceding it, meaning, a hundred days, a hundred years, a hundred thousand. And similarly, [what Scripture states], “and drunk וּשְׁכֻרַת,”26Yeshayahu 51:21. is an el…
