God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 6:8
8What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life?
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
6Even if the rich person lives two thousand years without experiencing anything good—don’t we all go to the same place? 7Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied. What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life? 9It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind. 10Whatever has happened ⌞in the past⌟ already has a name. Mortals are already known for what they are. Mortals cannot argue with the one who is stronger than they.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 6Ecclesiastes 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.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 6:8
- Ecclesiastes 2:14A wise person uses the eyes in his head, but a fool walks in the dark. But I have also come to realize that the same destiny waits for both of them.
- Ecclesiastes 5:11As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain ⌞from all their goods⌟ except ⌞the opportunity⌟ to look at them?
- Genesis 17:1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity.
- Psalms 101:2I want to understand the path to integrity. When will you come to me? I will live in my own home with integrity.
- Psalms 116:9I will walk in the Lord’s presence in this world of the living.
- Proverbs 19:1Better to be a poor person who lives innocently than to be one who talks dishonestly and is a fool.
- Luke 1:6Zechariah and Elizabeth had God’s approval. They followed all the Lord’s commands and regulations perfectly.
- 1 Timothy 6:17Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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