Ecclesiastes 8:7

Ecclesiastes 8:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
• New International Version (NIV)Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?
• New King James Version (NKJV)For he does not know what will happen; So who can tell him when it will occur?

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:7

5Trouble will not come to anyone who obeys the king's command. A wise person knows the right time to do things. He also knows the right way to do them. 6There is a right time for things to happen. There is a right way to do things. But trouble comes to people anyway. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Nobody can tell us about it. 8Nobody has the power to control the wind. Also, nobody has the power to decide the day of their death. Soldiers are not allowed to leave a battle. Also, if people do wicked things, that will not rescue them. 9I saw all these things that happen on the earth. I thought about them a lot. I thought about the things that happen on the earth. I saw that people sometimes use their power to hurt other people.

Ecclesiastes 8:7 word by word

כִּֽי־אֵינֶ֥נּוּ יֹדֵ֖עַ מַה־שֶּׁיִּֽהְיֶ֑ה כִּ֚י כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר יִֽהְיֶ֔ה מִ֖י יַגִּ֥יד לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For he knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not that which shall be: for who can tellנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:7

• Ecclesiastes 6:12Nobody knows the best way for us to live our lives. We live for only a few years and our lives seem to have no purpose. Our lives quickly disappear, like a shadow. Nobody can tell us what will happen on the earth after our death.
• Ecclesiastes 9:12Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them. A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap. In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it.
• Ecclesiastes 10:14But he never stops talking. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Nobody can tell us what will happen after we die.
• Proverbs 24:22Both the Lord and the king have the power to give strong punishment. In a moment they can destroy people who turn against them.
• Proverbs 29:1You may warn a proud person many times, but he will not listen to you. Trouble will suddenly happen to him and he will not escape.
• Matthew 24:44So you must also be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you are not thinking about it.’
• Matthew 25:6In the middle of the night, someone shouted out, “The man is coming! Come out to meet him!”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1Friends, we do not need to write anything to you about the dates and times when these things will happen.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:7

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7When - Or, as in the margin. For the meaning of this verse, compare marginal references.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 God has, in wisdom, kept away from us the knowledge of future events, that we may be always ready for changes. We must all die, no flight or hiding-place can save us, nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance. Ninety thousand die every day, upwards of sixty every minute, and one every moment. How solemn the thought! Oh that men were wise, that they understood these things, that they would consider their latter end! The believer alone is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8Our strength, goodness, and wisdom cannot prevent disasters, so choosing wickedness would be pointless.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. he--the sinner, by neglecting times (for example, "the accepted time, and the day of salvation, 2Co 6:2), is taken by surprise by the judgment (Ec 3:22; 6:12; 9:12). The godly wise observe the due times of things (Ec 3:1), and so, looking for the judgment, are not taken by surprise, though not knowing the precise "when" (1Th 5:2-4); they "know the time" to all saving purposes (Ro 13:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:7

• Ignorance

In the dictionaries

• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings