properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct
commandment
מִצְוָ֔הmitz.Vah
H4687
a command · noun, common feminine singular absolute
feel
יֵדַ֖עye.Da'
H3045
to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
evil
רָ֑עRa'
H7451
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
thing
דָּבָ֣רda.Var
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute
man’s
חָכָֽםcha.Kham
H2450
wise · adjective, masculine singular absolute
heart
לֵ֥בlev
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular absolute
discerneth
יֵדַ֖עye.Da'
H3045
to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
time
וְעֵ֣תve.'Et
H6256
time · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular absolute
judgment
וּמִשְׁפָּ֔טu.mish.Pat
H4941
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and…
Philippians 1:9-10 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
1 Peter 3:13-14 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were…
Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
Romans 13:5-7 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Exodus 1:17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 8:1-5
Here is, I. An encomium of wisdom (Ecc 8:1), that is, of true piety, guided in all its exercises by prudence and discretion. The wise man is the good man, that knows God and glorifies him, knows himself and does well for himself; his wisdom is a great happiness to him, for, 1. It advances him above his neighbours, and makes him more excellent than they: Who is as the wise man? Note, Heavenly wisdom will make a man an incomparable man. No man without grace, though he be learned, or noble, or rich, is to be compared with a man that has true grace and is therefore accepted of God. 2. It makes him useful among his neighbours and very serviceable to them: Who but the wise man knows the interpreta…
feel--experience.
time--the neglect of the right "times" causes much of the sinful folly of the spiritually unwise (Ecc 3:1-11).
judgment--the right manner [HOLDEN]. But as God's future "judgment" is connected with the "time for every purpose" in Ecc 3:17, so it is here. The punishment of persisting sinners (Ecc 8:3) suggests it. The wise man realizes the fact, that as there is a fit "time" for every purpose, so for the "judgment." This thought cheers him in adversity (Ecc 7:14; Ecc 8:1).
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 8:5
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing,.... Either the commandment of an earthly king, which should be kept, when agreeably to the laws of the nation, and not inconsistent with the commands of God; and such as do observe it "know no evil" (a), as it may be rendered, or no sorrow; they live peaceably and quietly, and enjoy the favour and protection of the government under which they are, and have praise of men; see Romans 13:3; or the commandments of the heavenly King, the singular being put for the plural; so the Targum,
"whoso keepeth the commandments of the Lord shall know no evil in the world to come.''
Nor in this world neither; no evil befalls them; what may be thought…
And you find in another passage, "For he that keeps the commandment does not know the wicked word" when it is altogether clear that knowledge of wickedness is not culpable, but association with it is.
"He who obeys the commandment will know no evil; and a wise man will know time and justice. "Notice here in particular that 'he will know no evil' has been written instead of 'he will not suffer' or even 'evil will not be in him'. Likewise it has also been written about the Saviour, "for he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin." [II Cor. 5, 21.] Instead of 'evil' too Symmachus interprets this phrase as saying, "he who keeps the commandment will experience no wickedness". But he teaches that we should keep the command of a king, and know why and when he orders.
Whoever knows what is good also knows at the same time what is bad. "To know" here does not mean "to do" but simply "to know about something." Because when the commandment is given to turn away from evil and do good, we must also know evil in order to be able to turn away from it and to choose good. About these things the apostle writes with the following words: "But test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil." One sees here that whoever tests everything, knows that the good is to be chosen and obeyed and that the evil is to be avoided.… Ecclesiastes means that he who obeys the command does not know an evil word, that is, he does not say that he does not "understand" it, but that he does not "use" it.
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
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
King · Obedience to, enjoine — Obedience to, enjoine
Nation · Promises of peace to — Promises of peace to
Wisdom · .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
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).
Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 8:5
"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…
Plotting against the king is futile because he has great power and can do whatever he wants.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 8:5
And [the significance of] time and judgment is known by the wise man. The wise person perceives that there is a predetermined time for the visitation of punishment upon the wicked, and there are judgments before the Holy One, Blessed Is He, with which He will exact justice from them. Judgment is justice in O.F., and it refers to the punishment.
