📖 Ecclesiastes — Chapter 8 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and Rwho knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and Tthe boldness of his face shall be changed.
Ecclesiastes 8:2 RI counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Ecclesiastes 8:3 Be Rnot hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
Ecclesiastes 8:4 Where Rthe word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
Ecclesiastes 8:5 Whoso Rkeepeth the commandment Tshall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
Ecclesiastes 8:6 Because Rto every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
Ecclesiastes 8:7 For Rhe knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him Twhen it shall be?
Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no RTdischarge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
Ecclesiastes 8:9 All Rthis have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
Ecclesiastes 8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from Rthe place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because Rsentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Ecclesiastes 8:12 Though Ra 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:
Ecclesiastes 8:13 But Rit shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is Ra vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 8:15 RThen I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 8:16 RWhen I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
Ecclesiastes 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, Rthat a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 8:1–6 — Wisdom amid royal authority
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Wise conduct considers timing and judgment before a king’s power. The passage explores responsible life under authority without declaring every royal decision morally right.
Key Truth: Use wisdom in difficult authority relationships.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s ____ maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his …” (Ecclesiastes 8:1)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Where the ____ of a king is, there is power: and who may …” (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Because to every purpose there is time and ____ , therefore the misery of man is great upon him.” (Ecclesiastes 8:6)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 8:7–12 — Limits, oppression, and delayed justice
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
No one controls death or every future event. Abusive rule and delayed punishment trouble the observer, yet he maintains reverence for God.
Key Truth: Do not mistake delay for approval of evil.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “For he ____ not that which shall be: for who can tell him …” (Ecclesiastes 8:7)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:7 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “And so I saw the ____ buried, who had come and gone from the place of …” (Ecclesiastes 8:10)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:10 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Because sentence against an ____ work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the …” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:11 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Ecclesiastes 8:13–17 — Enjoyment and inaccessible divine work
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Unjust reversals remain perplexing. Ordinary enjoyment is commended while the wisest searching cannot fully discover God’s work under the sun.
Key Truth: Receive gifts without claiming complete understanding.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “But it shall not be well with the ____ , neither shall he prolong his days, which are as …” (Ecclesiastes 8:13)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:13 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “… abide with him of his labour the days of his ____ , which God giveth him under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:15 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “____ I beheld all the work of God, that a man …” (Ecclesiastes 8:17)
Find it in Ecclesiastes 8:17 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Romans 11:33 — God’s judgments exceed human searching.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What unresolved question can you hold with reverence?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What does the wise heart discern in dealing with authority?
2. What limit applies even to a person with earthly power?
3. What harmful response can delayed punishment encourage?
4. What conviction remains despite a sinner’s prolonged days?
5. What conclusion limits even a wise investigator?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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