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

6He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use? 7All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others? 9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. 10Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

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 2:14For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.
• Ecclesiastes 5:11The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.
• Psalms 101:2I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.
• Psalms 116:9And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!
• Proverbs 19:1Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool.
• Luke 1:6Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.
• 1 Timothy 6:17Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

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