the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Bahasa Indonesia Sehari-hari
Pengkhotbah 8:16
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Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
When I: Solomon here records the result of his perplexing inquiries into the affairs of men, and the purposes, providence, and works of God. And when he examined with great attention and diligence into the works of God, he found he could neither comprehend nor explain them; and was persuaded, that no application or capacity would enable a man to fathom the depth of the Divine dispensations in this lower world. How vain, then, are all cavils against Divine providence; when we can neither understand, nor comprehend it! Ecclesiastes 8:9, Ecclesiastes 8:7, Ecclesiastes 7:25
there is that: Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 4:8, Ecclesiastes 5:12, Genesis 31:40, Psalms 127:2
Reciprocal: Job 28:13 - knoweth Psalms 121:4 - shall Proverbs 2:2 - apply Proverbs 22:17 - apply Ecclesiastes 1:13 - I gave Ecclesiastes 9:1 - considered in my heart Ecclesiastes 9:13 - General Luke 6:30 - Give
Cross-References
And the Lord said vnto Noah: come thou and al thy house into ye arke: for thee haue I seen ryghteous before me in this generation.
And Noah came, and his sonnes, and his wyfe, and his sonnes wyues with him to the arke, because of the waters of the fludde.
In the selfe same day, entred Noah, and Sem, and Ham, and Iapheth the sonnes of Noah, and Noahs wyfe, and the three wiues of his sonnes with the into the arke.
Go foorth of the arke, thou, and thy wife, thy sonnes, and thy sonnes wiues with thee.
And so Noah came foorth, and his sonnes, his wyfe, and his sonnes wiues with hym:
And the priestes that bare the arke of the couenaunt of the Lorde, stoode drie within Iordane, redy prepared, and all the Israelites went ouer thorowe the drie, vntill all the people were gone cleane ouer thorowe Iordane.
For the priestes whiche bare the arke stoode in the middes of Iordane, vntyll all was finished that the Lorde commaunded Iosuah to saye vnto the people, accordyng to all that Moyses charged Iosuah: And the people hasted, & went ouer.
For he wyll geue his angels charge ouer thee: to kepe thee in all thy wayes.
God wyll preserue thy goyng out and thy commyng in: from this tyme foorth for euermore.
Thou also [shalt be saued] through the blood of thy couenaunt: I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherin is no water.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
When I applied mine heart to know wisdom,.... The nature and causes of things; the wisdom of God in his providence, and the grounds and reasons of his various dispensations towards the children of men: the Targum interprets it, the wisdom of the law;
and to see the business that is done upon the earth; either the business of Providence, in dealing so unequally with the righteous and the wicked, before observed; and which is a business very afflictive and distressing for curious persons to look into, not being able to account for it: or the labour and toil of men to get wealth and riches, and to find happiness in them;
(for also [there is that] neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes); or has any sleep in his eyes, through his eager pursuit after worldly things, or, however, has but little; he rises early and sits up late at his business, so close and diligent is he at it, so industrious to obtain riches, imagining a happiness in them there is not: or else this describes persons curious and inquisitive into the affairs of Providence, and the reasons of them; who give themselves no rest, day nor night, being so intent upon their studies of this kind; and perhaps the wise man may design himself.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
These verses supplement Ecclesiastes 8:15 with the reflection that the man who goes beyond that limited sphere within which he can labor and be contented, and investigates the whole work of God, will find that his finite intelligence cannot grasp it.
Ecclesiastes 8:16
Business - Or, “travail” Ecclesiastes 1:13; Ecclesiastes 3:10. The sleeplessness noted probably refers to the writer himself.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. When I applied mine heart to know wisdom — This is the reply of the wise man: "I have also considered these seeming contradictions. God governs the world; but we cannot see the reasons of his conduct, nor know why he does this, omits that, or permits a third thing. We may study night and day, and deprive ourselves of rest and sleep, but we shall never fathom the depths that are in the Divine government; but all is right and just. This is the state of probation; and in it neither can the wicked be punished, nor the righteous rewarded. But eternity is at hand; and then shall every man receive according to his works. He that spends his life in the eat, drink, and play, will find in that day that he has lost the time in which he could have prepared for eternity.