God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 8:7
7They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out?
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
5Whoever obeys his commands will avoid trouble. The mind of a wise person will know the right time and the right way ⌞to act⌟. 6There is a right time and a right way ⌞to act⌟ in every situation. Yet, a terrible human tragedy hangs over people. They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out? 8No one has the power to prevent the spirit of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war ⌞against death⌟. Wickedness will not save wicked people ⌞from dying⌟. 9I have seen all of this, and I have carefully considered all that is done under the sun whenever one person has authority to hurt others.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 8Ecclesiastes 8:7 word by word
כִּֽי־אֵינֶ֥נּוּ יֹדֵ֖עַ מַה־שֶּׁיִּֽהְיֶ֑ה כִּ֚י כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר יִֽהְיֶ֔ה מִ֖י יַגִּ֥יד לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:7
- Ecclesiastes 6:12Who knows what may be good for mortals while they are alive, during the brief, pointless days they live? Mortals pass by like a shadow. Who will tell them about their future under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 9:12No one knows when his time will come. Like fish that are caught in a cruel net or birds caught in a snare, humans are trapped by a disaster when it suddenly strikes them.
- Ecclesiastes 10:14He never stops talking. No one knows what the future will bring, or what will happen after ⌞death⌟. Who can say!
- Proverbs 24:22because disaster will come to them suddenly. Who knows what misery both may bring?
- Proverbs 29:1A person who will not bend after many warnings will suddenly be broken beyond repair.
- Matthew 24:44Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.
- Matthew 25:6“At midnight someone shouted, ‘The groom is here! Come to meet him!’
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1Brothers and sisters, you don’t need anyone to write to you about times and dates.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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