Ecclesiastes 6:8

Ecclesiastes 6:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
• New International Version (NIV)What advantage have the wise over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?
• New King James Version (NKJV)For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?

Context of Ecclesiastes 6:8

6A rich person might live for 2,000 years. But if he never enjoys his riches, it would be better if he died at birth. Remember that after death, we all go into our graves. 7The reason people work so hard is to get food. But they never have enough to eat. Does a wise person have a better life than a foolish person? No, he does not! Does it help a poor person if he knows how to live well? No! 9It is good to enjoy the things that we have. That is better than to want more things all the time. If you always try to get more things, that has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind. 10Everything that is here today already has its name. Everyone knows what we humans are like. It is useless to argue with someone who is more powerful than we are.

Ecclesiastes 6:8 word by word

כִּ֛י מַה־יּוֹתֵ֥ר לֶחָכָ֖ם מִֽן־הַכְּסִ֑יל מַה־לֶּעָנִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ לַהֲלֹ֖ךְ נֶ֥גֶד הַחַיִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For what hath the wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• moreיוֹתֵרyôthêr · advantageH3148
• than the foolכְּסִילkesîyl · foolH3684
• what hath the poorעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041
• that knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• to walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• before the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:8

• Ecclesiastes 2:14Wise people can see where they are going. Foolish people walk in the dark. But at the end of their lives, there is no difference. They both die.
• Ecclesiastes 5:11As a person's money becomes more, there are more people who want a share of it. Money does not help the people who have a lot of it. They see it, but it quickly disappears.
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, ‘I am God Almighty. In all your life, obey me and do nothing wrong.
• Psalms 101:2I will be careful to live in a completely good way. When will you come to help me, Lord? In my own home, I will always be completely honest.
• Psalms 116:9Now I will serve the Lord here in this world where people live.
• Proverbs 19:1It is better to be poor and honest, than to be a fool who speaks lies.
• Luke 1:6Zechariah and Elizabeth obeyed God's commands and rules. God saw that they were righteous people. They did not do wrong things.
• 1 Timothy 6:17Warn those people who are rich with many things that belong to this world. Tell them not to think that they are more important than other people. They must not think that their money will keep them safe. They could easily lose all of it. Instead, they should trust God. He gives us many things, so that we can enjoy all of them.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8For what hath the wise more than the fool? - They must both labor for the same end. Both depend upon the labor of themselves or others for the necessaries of life. Both must eat and drink in order to live; and the rich man can no more eat two meals at a time, than he can comfortably wear two changes of raiment. The necessaries of life are the same to both, and their condition in life is nearly similar; liable to the same diseases, dissolution, and death.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 Connect these verses with Ecclesiastes 6:2-3: “All labor is undertaken with a view to some profit, but as a rule the people who labor are never satisfied. What advantage then has he who labors if (being rich) he is wise, or if being poor he knows how to conduct himself properly; what advantage have such laborers above a fool? (None, so far as they are without contentment, for) a thing present before the eyes is preferable to a future which…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The poor man has comfort as well as the richest, and is under no real disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the resting of the soul in God; for it is better to live by faith in things to come, than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool?: They have an advantage if they enjoy and are content with what the Lord has given them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. For--"However" [Maurer]. The "for" means (in contrast to the insatiability of the miser), For what else is the advantage which the wise man hath above the fool?" What--advantage, that is, superiority, above him who knows not how to walk uprightly hath the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?--that is, to use and enjoy life aright (Ec 5:18, 19), a cheerful, thankful, godly "walk" (Psa 116:9).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 6:8

• Contentment
• Poor

In the dictionaries

• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings