Ecclesiastes 9:13-12:7

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

Live Worthily While You May1-3. The future is in God’s hands. Good and bad alike must die.1. Considered in] RV ’laid to.’ Declare] RV ’explore.’ No man.. before them] RV ’whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.’ Whether God’s dealings with them shall be such as to suggest His favour or displeasure is unknown, because the part of life not yet traversed cannot be penetrated. 2. There seems no discrimination in the lot of men.4. A living dog] Life has at any rate one... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

Ecclesiastes 9:2 It is verbally true, that in the sacred Scriptures it is written: As is the good, so is the sinner, and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, drink, and be merry, etc. But he who should repeat these words, and this assurance, to an ignorant man in the hour of his temptation, lingering at the door of an ale-house, or hesitating as to the testimony required of him in the court of justice, would, spite of this verbal... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

7FOURTH SECTIONThe Quest Achieved. The Chief Good Is To Be Found, Not In Wisdom, Nor In Pleasure, Nor In Devotion To Affairs And Its Rewards;But In A Wise Use And A Wise Enjoyment Of The Present Life, Combined With A Steadfast Faith In The Life To Come Ecclesiastes 8:16 - Ecclesiastes 12:7AT last we approach the end of our Quest. The Preacher has found the Chief Good, and will show us where to find it. But are we even yet prepared to welcome it and to lay hold of it? Apparently he thinks we are... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

Nor in Devotion to Affairs and its Rewards. Ecclesiastes 9:13-18; Ecclesiastes 10:1-20So far, then, Coheleth has been occupied in retracing the argument of the first Section of the Book. Now he returns upon the second and third Sections: he deals with the man who plunges into public affairs, who turns his wisdom to practical account and seeks to attain a competence, if not a fortune. He lingers over this stage of his argument, probably because the Jews, then as always, even in exile and under... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

2. Praise of Wisdom and Philosophy, theFinal Word and the Great Conclusion CHAPTER 9:13-18 Before he had declared that wisdom is strength. He comes back to this statement and gives an illustration of it. He is in a calmer mood, but what does his meditation amount to? Only to show that this also is vanity. read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:13

-Ecclesiastes 12:14 Some commentators make a new division here, and while others do not agree, yet there is that which suggests it, surely. The preacher here seems to have returned to the placid, philosophic mood again, in the cautious praise of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 ). This praise is followed by a number of proverbs of natural wisdom and prudence (see chap. 10, especially v. Ecclesiastes 10:16-20 ). In chapters 11 and 12 we have “the final sum and forecast,” which is, that however... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

The Land of Shadows Ecclesiastes 9:0 In this chapter we have a number of loose and disconnected notes about human life. The writer seems to have jotted down things as they came into his mind. His book is rather a heap of stones than an orderly building. Perhaps it is hardly just to regard the Book of Ecclesiastes as a piece of elaborate and continuous logic; it ought to be taken rather as a series of notes or memoranda which the writer himself could have expounded, and which readers can only... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:11-13

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (12) For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. (13) This wisdom have I seen also... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

13-18 A man may, by his wisdom, bring to pass that which he could never do by his strength. If God be for us, who can be against us, or stand before us? Solomon observes the power of wisdom, though it may labour under outward disadvantages. How forcible are right words! But wise and good men must often content themselves with the satisfaction of having done good, or, at least, endeavoured to do it, when they cannot do the good they would, nor have the praise they should. How many of the good... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Ecclesiastes 9:11-18

Wisdom Still to be Sought v. 11. I returned and saw under the sun, throughout the world, in all circumstances and conditions of men, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, that is, by their own absolute determination and effort, neither yet bread to the wise, whose wisdom might be expected to provide food for himself in large amounts, nor yet riches to men of understanding, who would presumably know how to acquire them, nor yet favor to men of skill, although one... read more

Group of Brands