Marilyn Hickey: Chapter 8 is about seeking advice. Chapters 9-10 are contrasting wisdom and folly. Chapters 11-12 are repenting from man’s wisdom. The book is located in Jerusalem, written late in Solomon’s life, about 945BC
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
7:1 A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
I will change your name (By D.J. Butler)
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, Outcast, Lonely, or Afraid.
I will change your name.
Your new name shall be
Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming One...
Faithfulness, Friend of God,
One who seeks my Face.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because [a]that is the end of every man, And the living [b]takes it to [c]heart. SOMETIMES IT'S BETTER TO FAST AND PRAY.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy. OUR HEART MAY BE HAPPY EVEN IF WE ARE SAD. PARENTS IN HEAVEN, ETC.
4 The [d]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the [e]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. BE CAREFUL OF BEING FOCUSED ON PLEASURE VS. WISDOM.
5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools. BE CAREFUL REGARDING THE MUSIC TO WHICH WE LISTEN.
6 For as the [f]crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.
7 For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe [g]corrupts the heart. WE MAY BE OPPRESSED MORE AS CHRISTIANS. BE CAREFUL OF BRIBES IN PRISON.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. I PRAY I HEAR FROM THE LORD "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT." HUMBLE THYSELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD AND HE WILL LIFT US UP, HIGHER AND HIGHER.
9 Do not be [h]eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools. THIS IS SOMETHING ON WHICH I NEED TO WORK.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. BE CAREFUL ABOUT LIVING IN THE PAST.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun. BE CAREFUL OF BLOWING INHERITANCE. MY BROTHER IS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT FOR HIS STEPSONS.
12 For wisdom is [i]protection just as money is [j]protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13 Consider the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent? WE CAN TRY TO MOVE RIVERS, BUT IF THERE ARE FLOODS THEY MAY OVERFLOW.
14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him. THIS IS A KEY VERSE. BE READY FOR RICHES AND POVERTY.
15 I have seen everything during my [k]lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. BE CAREFUL OF WORKS.
16 Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? WE NEED TO BE BALANCED BETWEEN THE TWO.
17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? JUST BE A LITTLE WICKED. :)
18 It is good that you grasp one thing and also not [l]let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with [m]both of them. PRIORITIZING IS IMPORTANT.
19 Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. ROMANS 3:23 “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.” THIS IS PART OF THE ROMANS ROAD.
21 Also, do not [n]take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant cursing you. WE NEED TO SOMETIMES HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR AND WE NEED TO BE GOOD LISTENERS.
22 For [o]you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
24 What has been is remote and exceedingly [p]mysterious. Who can discover it?
25 I [q]directed my [r]mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR THOUGHTS ON THE LORD AND WHAT CHRIST AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WANT. ARE WE LISTENING FOR HIS VOICE?
26 And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her. BE CAREFUL OF THE WOMEN IN OUR LIVES. 😊
27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation,
28 which [s]I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these.
29 Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.” WOMEN MAY NOT LIKE READING THIS. :)
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 7:2 I.e. death
Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit gives
Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit his heart
Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit voice
Ecclesiastes 7:7 Lit destroys
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Lit hasty in your spirit
Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
Ecclesiastes 7:15 Lit days
Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit rest your hand
Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit all
Ecclesiastes 7:21 Lit give your heart to
Ecclesiastes 7:22 Lit your heart knows also
Ecclesiastes 7:24 Lit deep
Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit turned about
Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 7:28 Lit my soul still seeks
Obey Rulers
8:1 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines [a]him and causes his stern face to [b]beam. LIGHT THE FIRE AGAIN IS A GOOD SONG BY THE VINEYARD.
2 I say, “Keep the [c]command of the king because of the oath [d]before God. This is like Romans 13: 1 which is a challenging verse if they are against the Bible “All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God.”
3 Do not be in a hurry [e]to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” THIS IS THE EXCEPTION IF OUR LEADER IS NOT FOLLOWING THE BIBLE.
4 Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps a royal command experiences no [f]trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. IN THE MILITARY WE ARE ALLOWED TO RECLAMA, TO ASK FOR AN EXCEPTION.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. 1 CORINTHIANS 14: 40 STATES “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.”
7 If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?
8 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver [g]those who practice it. JESUS HAS THE AUTHORITY.
9 All this I have seen and applied my [h]mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.
10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. THE WICKED MAY BE FORGOTTEN.
11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. JUSTICE IS SOMETIMES SLOW.
12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear [i]Him openly. WE NEED TO HAVE AWE AND RESPECT OF THE LORD.
13 But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God. THIS IS A WARNING ABOUT BEING EVIL.
14 There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it [j]happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it [k]happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? RABBI KUSHNER
15 So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his [l]toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. ENJOY LIFE! WE DON'T KNOW WHEN OUR LAST DAY IS.
16 When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should [m]never sleep day or night),
17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover. ONLY THE LORD KNOWS WHAT OUR WORK FOR HIM DOES IN HEAVEN.
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 8:1 Lit his face
Ecclesiastes 8:1 Or change
Ecclesiastes 8:2 Lit mouth
Ecclesiastes 8:2 Lit of
Ecclesiastes 8:3 Lit to go out from his presence
Ecclesiastes 8:5 Lit evil thing
Ecclesiastes 8:8 Lit its possessors
Ecclesiastes 8:9 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 8:12 Lit before Him
Ecclesiastes 8:14 Lit strikes
Ecclesiastes 8:14 Lit strikes
Ecclesiastes 8:15 Lit labor
Ecclesiastes 8:16 Lit see no sleep in his eyes
Men Are in the Hand of God
9:1 For I have taken all this to my heart and explain [a]it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything [b]awaits him. ROMANS 10:9 "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved"
2 It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who [c]is afraid to swear. HEAVEN FOR THOSE WHO ACCEPT GOD.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. ROMANS 3:23 "for all [a]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." THIS IS PART OF THE ROMANS ROAD.
4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. THEY MAY BE FRIENDLIER. 😊
5 For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. HEAVEN IS OUR REWARD IF WE KNOW JESUS. WHAT IS OUR LEGACY?
6 Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun. NO UHAUL BEHIND A HEARSE. 😊
7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 1 Timothy 5:23 "No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments."
8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. WE CAN’T WEAR OTHER COLORS? 😊 HE’S GETTING AT PURITY. OIL ON THE HEAD IS REFERRING TO BEING ANOINTED BY THE LORD.
9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your [d]fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun[e]; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. LOVE YOUR GIRLFRIEND / WIVE / SISTER / MOTHER, WE DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG WE WILL HAVE THEM WITH US.
Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. IN PSALM 88 IT "refers to the grave or the abode of the dead" https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sheol/
11 I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.
RUSH CIRCUMSTANCES “All the same we take our chances Laughed at by time Tricked by circumstances”
12 Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them. WATCH OUT, IT'S A TRAP!
13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and [f]it impressed me.
14 There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it.
15 But there was found in it a poor wise man and he [g]delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. WILL THE POOR BE REMEMBERED?
16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded. SOMETIMES THE POOR ARE WISER THAN RICH.
17 The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. WHEN EF HUTTON TALKS, PEOPLE LISTEN. THERE ARE SOME QUIET GUYS IN THRESHOLD LIKE THIS.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. I'M A WORSHIPING WARRIOR.
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit all this
Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit is before them
Ecclesiastes 9:2 Lit fears an oath
Ecclesiastes 9:9 Lit life of vanity
Ecclesiastes 9:9 Heb adds all the days of your vanity
Ecclesiastes 9:13 Lit great it was to me
Ecclesiastes 9:15 Or might have delivered
A Little Foolishness
10:1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. INSERT POLITICAL JOKE HERE 😊
3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his [a]sense is lacking and he [b]demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the ruler’s [c]temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses. I NEED TO WORK ON ESCALATING PEOPLE WHO ARE ANGRY, INCLUDING MYSELF. :)
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— 1 TIMOTHY 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and [b]dignity.
6 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. A SONG ABOUT THIS IS "HUMBLE THYSELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD AND HE WILL LIFT YOU UP, HIGHER AND HIGHER."
7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. WE USE THIS AS AN EXPRESSION WHEN OUR WORDS GET US IN TROUBLE.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the [d]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must [e]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, So one (hu)man sharpens another."
11 If the serpent bites [f]before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
12 Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;
13 the beginning of [g]his talking is folly and the end of [h]it is wicked madness.
14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? THE REDMANS WROTE A SONG ABOUT THIE "LET ME WORDS BE FEW, JESUS I AM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU"
15 The toil of [i]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.
16 Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes [j]feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. BE CAREFUL OF EATING TOO MUCH (GLUTTONY) AND ABUSE OF ALCOHOL.
18 Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.
19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money [k]is the answer to everything.
20 Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known. ROOMS WERE BUGGED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?:)
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 10:3 Lit says
Ecclesiastes 10:4 Lit spirit
Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit iron
Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit strengthen
Ecclesiastes 10:11 Lit without enchantment
Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit the words of his mouth
Ecclesiastes 10:13 Lit his mouth
Ecclesiastes 10:15 Lit fools
Ecclesiastes 10:16 Lit eat
Ecclesiastes 10:19 Lit answers all
Cast Your Bread on the Waters
11:1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it [a]after many days. LIKE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE BY THE POLICE? :)
2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. I HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF FOOD AND WATER STORED AT HOME IF I NEED THEM.
3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it [b]lies. DOES IT MAKE A SOUND IF NOONE IS THERE TO HEAR IT? :)
4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. DON'T DAYDREAM :)
5 Just as you do not know [c]the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the [d]pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. GOD IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not [e]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether [f]morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good. BE EFFICIENT AT NIGHT, TOO.
7 The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility. SOLOMON SOMETIMES WAS HOPELESS.
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the [g]impulses of your heart and the [h]desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS.
10 So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away [i]pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. WE NEED TO CHERISH EVERY DAY. WE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME FOR US TO DIE.
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 11:1 Lit in, within
Ecclesiastes 11:3 Lit is
Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or with many mss how the spirit enters the bones in the womb
Ecclesiastes 11:5 Lit full
Ecclesiastes 11:6 Lit let down your hand
Ecclesiastes 11:6 Lit this or that
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Lit ways
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Lit sights
Ecclesiastes 11:10 Lit evil
Remember God in Your Youth
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; THAT'S WHY YOUTH / YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY IS IMPORTANT.
2 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;
3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through [a]windows grow dim;
4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will [b]sing softly.
5 Furthermore, [c]men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry (OLIVE SUBSTITUTE) is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.
6 Remember Him before the silver cord is [d]broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;
7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the [e]spirit will return to God who gave it. 8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”
Purpose of the Preacher
9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. SOLOMON IS REFERRING TO HIMSELF HERE.
10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. I DO AS WELL.
11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like [f]well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. THIS IS A REFERENCE TO CHRIST.
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the [g]writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. A PROFESSOR DREAMT ABOUT THIS. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF STUDYING?
13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. HAVE APPROPRIATE RESPECT AND AWE FOR GOD.
14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. WE CAN'T HIDE OUR SIN FROM GOD. 1 JOHN 1: 9 "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS HE IS FAITHFUL TO FORGIVE US AND TO CLEANSE US FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."
Footnotes
Ecclesiastes 12:3 Or holes
Ecclesiastes 12:4 Lit be brought low
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Lit they
Ecclesiastes 12:6 So with Gr; Heb removed
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Or breath
Ecclesiastes 12:11 Lit planted
Ecclesiastes 12:12 Lit making
