Ecclesiastes 6:8

For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? FOR WHAT HATH THE WISE MORE THAN THE FOOL? The "for" means (in contrast to the insatiability of the miser), For what else but this, namely, that 'his appetite is satisfied,' is the advantage which the wise man hath above the fool? What (other advantage but this, i:e., what superiority, above him who knows not how to walk upright) hath the godly poor who knoweth to walk before the living? i:e., to use and enjoy life aright among and in the presence of the living (Ecclesiastes 5:18), with a cheerful, thankful, godly "walk" ()....

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 things. Our lot is appointed. We have what pleases God, and let that please us. The greatest possessions and honours cannot set us above the common events of human life. Seeing that the things men pursue on earth increase vanities, what is man the better for his worldly devices? Our life upon earth is to be reckoned by days. It is fleeting and uncertain, and with little in it to be fond of, or to be depended on. Let us return to God, trust in his me...

Verse Ecclesiastes 6:8. _FOR WHAT HATH THE WISE MORE THAN THE FOOL?_] They must both labour for the same end. Both depend upon the labour 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....

Connect these verses with Ecclesiastes 6:2 : “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 exists only in the desire.” Ecclesiastes 6:8 WHAT - literally, what profit (as in Ecclesiastes 1:3). KNOWETH ... LIVING - i. e., “Knows how to conduct

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 6:1 Section 9. Koheleth proceeds to illustrate the fact which he stated at the end of the last chapter, viz. that the possession and enjoyment of wealth are alike the free gift of God. We may see men possessed of all the gifts of fortune, yet denied the faculty of enjoying them. Hence we again conclude that _wealth cannot secure happiness_. ECCLESIASTES 6:1 THERE IS AN EVIL WHICH I HAVE SEEN UNDER THE SUN. The writer presents his personal experience, that which has fallen under his own observation (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:13;...

FOR WHAT HATH THE WISE MORE THAN THE FOOL,.... More delight and pleasure, in gratifying his senses, by eating and drinking: the wise man enjoys no more than the fool; the fool finds as much pleasure in the labour of his hands, which is for his mouth, as the wise man does; and the wise man can get no more satisfaction to his mind, from these outward gratifications, than the fool; WHAT HATH THE POOR, THAT KNOWETH TO WALK BEFORE THE LIVING? either, what does the poor man want more than the rich man, that knows how to get his bread, and is diligent and industrious among men to live, and does get a livelihood for himself and family; he enjoys all the sweets and comforts of life, as well as the rich man: or what hath the poor knowing man? as Aben Ezra interprets it, according to the accents; what has he more or does he enjoy more, than the poor foolish man, provided he has but sense enough to...

CHAPTER 6 DISHEARTENING CONTRADICTIONS _ 1. Riches--Inability to enjoy them (Ecclesiastes 6:1)_ 2. Having All--Yet no fill of the soul (Ecclesiastes 6:3) 3. The sad ending wail (Ecclesiastes 6:10) Ecclesiastes 6:1. The first evil the wise searcher sees as a discouraging contradiction is, that God giveth a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he does not lack in anything whatever. But God does not give him the power to enjoy it, a stranger instead eats thereof. This makes impossible what he stated in the closing verses of the preceding chapter. The cherished desires of man

ECCLESIASTES 6. FURTHER REFLECTIONS ON WEALTH AND FATE. Parallel with the bitter experience of the avaricious man who loses his wealth is that of the rich and successful man whose cherished desires are unfulfilled. Having no keen satisfaction himself he yet hopes to see his son enjoy his acquisitions, but he is childless, or if he has the blessings of a large family (a hundred is just a round number) and a long life both highly prized by the Jews the children may disappoint him by their conduct and so fill his soul with sorrow instead of satisfying it with good, and he may even yet undergo the supreme dishonour of lacking interment. _Cf._ Jezebel (2 Kings 9:35) and Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:19), and many other references both in biblical and classical literature, especially the Greek legend of Antigone

WHAT. what [advantage]. THE WISE. a wise one, or sage. THE FOOL. a fool. Hebrew. _kesil_. See note on Proverbs 1:7. THE POOR. a wretched one. Heb _'anah._ See note on "poverty", Proverbs 6:11....

_For what hath wise more than the fool?_ The question so far is easy. In this matter, the gifts of intellect make no difference. The wise, no less than the fool, is subject to the pressure of bodily necessities, and has to labour for them. The second clause is somewhat less clear. Of the many interpretations that have been given, two have most to commend them, (1) supplying the subject of comparison from the first clause, WHAT ADVANTAGE HATH THE POOR THAT KNOWS TO WALK BEFORE THE LIVING (_i.e. that has learnt the art to live_) OVER THE FOOL (_who is the mere slave of appetite)? what does wisdom and self-control and freedom from the snares of wealth really profit him?_and (2), treating the sentence as elliptical, WHAT ADVANTAGE HATH THE POOR OVER HIM WHO KNOWS HOW TO WALK BEFORE THE LIVING (_i.e._the man of high birth or station, _who lives in public, with the eyes of men on him_)? The la...