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This section is often misunderstood because verses 16-17 are often separated from it and placed with 9:1-11:6 (cf., e.g., Christian D. Ginsburg, The Song of Songs and Coheleth, p. 406). However, the recurrence of the divider phrase "cannot discover" (8:17; cf. 7:14,28) argues for the inclusion of verses 16-17 with verses 10-15. This is also supported by the bracketing effects of verse 1 ("the wise man... knows") and verse 17 ("man cannot discover" and "a wise man... cannot really comprehend"). Verses 16-17 thus refer in particular to the enigma of God's work of divine judgment.

(1) Failure to punish wickedness is a great enigma (8:10-14).

8:10-12 a. Solomon had noted that wickedness is not always punished (cf. 3:16; 4:1). He had seen that the wicked have access to the holy place (i.e., the temple), die, are buried, and even are praised in the city where they practiced wickedness. Affirming that such a contradiction of the doctrine of retribution was meaningless (hebel; cf. 1:2) or enigmatic, Solomon lamented the fact that a wicked man could sin with impunity (i.e., commit 100 crimes and live a long time, 8:12). According to Solomon, man's failure to carry out retribution (e.g., to punish a crime... quickly, v. 11) often leads to more wrongdoing: then the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong (cf. 7:29).

8:12 b-14. These verses are one long sentence in the Hebrew. Verse 14 is the main clause of a subordinate clause consisting of verses 12 b-13 and introduced by the Hebrew particle gam (meaning "though," not "still" or "yet" as in NASB, KJV; not trans, in NIV) before the words I know. Solomon firmly believed in the doctrine of retribution: life is better for God-fearing people (cf. 3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 12:13) but does not go well for the wicked whose lives will be shortened (cf. Proverbs 2:22; 10:27; 29:1). Yet Solomon had observed contradictions to retribution. He had seen the righteous... get what the wicked deserve and the wicked... get what the righteous deserve. Solomon affirmed emphatically that such a contradiction in the distributing of divine justice is enigmatic or meaningless (cf. Ecclesiastes 8:10; "meaningless" occurs as a bracket at the beginning and the end of v. 14).

(2) Enjoy the life God gives.

8:15. Having shown that there are enigmatic contradictions in the doctrine of retribution - righteousness is not always rewarded and wickedness is not always punished, and sometimes the wicked prosper and the righteous meet with disaster Solomon again recommended the enjoyment of life. He said that life's best is to enjoy the fruits of one's labor (i.e., to eat and drink; cf. 2:24; 3:13; 5:18) and "to rejoice" or be glad (cf. 3:12; 5:19). Also he noted that this joy would enliven one's labor (i.e., it would accompany him in his work). As is obvious from earlier occurrences of this theme (cf. 2:24-26; 3:12,22; 5:18-20), this is not Epicurean hedonism based on despair but is a note of submission. Man cannot control or predict adversity or prosperity; however, each day's joys should be received as gifts from God's hand and be savored as God permits (3:13; 5:19). All this is to be while one is under the sun (twice in 8:15; cf. comments on 1:3).

(3) No man can comprehend God's providence.

8:16-17. Solomon closed his treatment of the enigma of contradictions in divine retribution much as he had concluded his discussions on the significance of adversity and prosperity (7:1-14) and on the significance of righteousness and wisdom (7:15-29), namely, by acknowledging man's ignorance of God's ways (cf. 7:14 b, 28 a). After searching diligently (I applied my mind; cf. 1:17; 8:9) to gain wisdom and observing man's many activities, he concluded that man is ignorant of God's work (the phrases all that God has done and what goes on under the sun are synonymous). In emphatic terms, repeating the negative three times (v. 17) and the verb "comprehend" twice - no one can comprehend... man cannot discover... he cannot really comprehend - Solomon said that no one can understand God's ways (3:11; cf. Isaiah 55:9; Romans 11:33) even if he expended all his energies or were wise and claimed he could.

This section is characterized by the repetition of the phrase "no man knows" (cf. 9:1,12; 10:14) and "you do not know" (cf. 11:2, 6). It deals with man's inability to predict what will happen to him, whether good or bad (cf. 9:1), or whether his work will fail or succeed (cf. 9:11-12; 11:2,6). Contrary to the writings of some, this formula ("no man knows" and "you do not know") serve to introduce the subsections, not conclude them, as is evident from their occurrences in 9:1 and 11:2.

a. Summary: No one knows what awaits him (9:1)

9:1. This verse closely relates verses 2-10 to the preceding section, as indicated in the NIV translation, So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands. The "all this" that Solomon "reflected on" is human ignorance of the significance of righteousness and wickedness in God's sovereign disposition of adversity and prosperity (chaps. 7-8). Solomon "concluded" (lit., "my heart saw") from his prior reflections "on all this" that people are not masters of their own fate; people and "what they do" are subject to God's sovereign will (i.e., they "are in God's hands"; cf. Proverbs 21:1 for a similar use of this figure). Since one does not know God's providence, neither does he know whether he will experience prosperity or adversity, or whether he will be the object of love or hate (for a similar use of these two nouns; cf. Malachi 1:2-3).

b. All people are subject to the same fate (9:2-3)

9:2-3. Solomon supported the statement that nobody knows what awaits him (v. 1) by stating that all people share the same fate or common destiny. However, there is some ambiguity as to the nature of that fate because of a common failure to relate the beginning of verse 2 to the end of verse 1. The same fate or destiny relates to the "love or hate," adversity or prosperity, referred to in verse 1. The Hebrew is literally, "whether it will be love or hate, no man knows"; both (i.e., love and hate - for this use of kol; cf. 2:14; 3:19; 7:18) are before them (i.e., the righteous and the wise, 9:1). Both love and hate are experienced by everyone; there is one fate (or destiny) for the righteous and the wicked. This commonality of fate applies to the good and the bad, those who are ritually clean as well as those who are ritually unclean, those who offer sacrifices as well as those who do not .... those who are afraid to take God's name in oaths (cf. Exodus 20:7, "misuse the name of the LORD") as well as those who are not afraid to do so. The same destiny befalls all these, The bad part of all this (i.e., the evil in everything that happens under the sun), Solomon wrote, is that this common fate causes people to be rampant in sin (people's hearts... are full of evil and ... madness; cf. Ecclesiastes 8:11). Solomon added that not only does everybody (including the righteous and the wise, 9:1) share this same inscrutable distribution of adversity and prosperity during life, but they also share the same ultimate fate after life; they all join the dead.

c. Life is preferable to death (9:4-6)

9:4-6. However, despite the fact that all people, both righteous and wicked, are subject to the same inscrutable distribution of adversity and prosperity and ultimately join one another in death, they should not despair of life. Life has advantages over death. Comparing the lot of a live dog with that of a dead lion, Solomon affirmed that it is better to be alive and dishonored (cf. 1 Samuel 17:43; the dog was the most despised animal) than to be honored and dead (cf. Proverbs 30:30; the lion was the most honored beast). The living at least have consciousness and hope, things they can look forward to enjoying. But the dead have no consciousness (they know nothing) or hope of reward or enjoyment. Moreover, their passions - their love, their hate, and their jealousy - are stilled. As Ginsburg has noted, the concepts of consciousness and unconsciousness here are not in their barest forms as though these verses taught soul sleep. Instead they should be understood in the context of enjoying life (Ecclesiastes 9:7-9) and possessing the capacities for enjoyment; the living have those capabilities but the dead do not (The Song of Songs and Coheleth, pp. 414-5). Thus the living have opportunities and capacities for fruitful labor but the dead do not (v. 10). The living have opportunities for reward from that labor, but the dead do not (v. 5; the word trans. "reward" refers to wages or earnings). The living have capacities for enjoyment (vv. 7-9), but the dead do not (v. 6). Solomon was not describing what the state of the dead is; he was stating what it is not. He did this to emphasize the lost opportunities of this present life, opportunities for serving God and enjoying His gifts (cf. Isaiah 38:11,18-19 for similar ideas). Solomon added that the dead never again... have a part in anything that happens under the sun (cf. comments on Ecc. 1:3). The word for "part" (heleq, "lot, portion, allotment") is the word he used elsewhere of life and its enjoyments (3:22; 5:18-19; 9:9).

Some commentators see a contradiction between 9:4-6 and 4:2-3 ("the dead... are happier than the living"). However, no real contradiction is here because Solomon was stating that a person who experiences the pressures of oppression (4:1) may feel that death is preferable. On the other hand in 9:4-6 (and in vv. 7-10) Solomon stressed that when a person is dead opportunities for enjoying life are gone. The two passages view life and death from different perspectives.

d. Enjoy life as God enables (9:7-9)

9:7-9. In view of the uncertainties of what the future may bring, whether adversity or prosperity (vv. 1-3), and in view of the certainty of death with the loss of all opportunity for enjoyment (vv. 4-6), Solomon again recommended enjoying life as God's good gift (cf. 2:24-26; 3:12-13,22; 5:18-19). Solomon here spelled out in greater detail than elsewhere some of the aspects of life which should be enjoyed: food (lit., "bread") and wine which sustain life and make it merry (cf. Psalms 104:15), fine clothes and pleasant lotions (cf. 2 Samuel 12:20 where they are the opposites of mournful grief), enjoyment of life with one's wife (cf. Proverbs 18:22). In short, these include both the basic necessities of life and some luxuries God bestows as His gifts (cf. Ecclesiastes 5:19). Solomon underlined the need to enjoy these gifts by emphasizing life's brevity. He did this by almost repeating a phrase, all the days of this meaningless life and-all your meaningless days. "Meaningless" here (hebel) should be rendered "fleeting" (cf. comments on 3:19; 6:12; 7:15).

Affirming that this is one's lot (heleq; cf. 3:22; 5:18-19 and contrast 9:6 where the same word is trans. "part") in life and labor under the sun (cf. comments on 1:3), Solomon encouraged his readers to enjoy life because it is God's will for them to do so. He stated, "God has already approved your works" (NASB; preferred over NIV'S God favors what you do). By this he summarized what he had previously said about the enjoyment of life: (a) wealth and possessions, which stem from one's "labor," ultimately are gifts of God (5:18-19), (b) only God gives the ability to enjoy the fruits of one's labor (cf. 2:24; 3:13; 5:18), and (c) the ability to enjoy those things depends on whether one pleases God (2:26). So the statement "God has already approved your works" means that possessing God's gifts and the ability to enjoy them evidence God's prior approval that one can do so; if God had not so approved the gifts, one could not enjoy them.

e. Labor diligently while you can (9:10)

9:10. Besides encouraging his readers to enjoy life as God enabled them, Solomon also encouraged them to work diligently. The idiom whatever your hand finds to do means "whatever you are able to do" (cf. 1 Samuel 10:7). Whatever a person is able to do, he should do it with all his might, that is, expend all his energies. The reason for this advice is that when death comes all opportunities for work and service will cease. In death a person will have no further energies or abilities to work; there will be neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (This does not suggest soul sleep; see comments on Ecc. 9:5.)

The preceding section (9:1-10) began with a statement that the righteous and the wise are subject to the same uncertain future as anyone else (9:1). Then in 9:2-10 Solomon discussed this fact with regard to the righteous (in contrast with the wicked), and now (in 9:11-10:11) he showed that the wise are also subject to an uncertain future.

a. Introduction: Wisdom is subject to the uncertainty of the future (9:11-12)

9:11-12. The fact that wisdom is subject to the future's uncertainty is introduced by a series of five human abilities, each of which fails to succeed. The last three relate to a wise person: the wise ... the brilliant... the learned. As a race is not always won by the swiftest runner, or a victory in a battle always won by the mightiest soldiers, so also the wise do not always earn a living (i.e., gain food, lit., "bread"), get rich, or acquire a great reputation (gain favor).

The reason for such failures is that all people are subject to times of misfortune (time and chance is another example of a hendiadys; cf. comments on 7:25) which no man is able to predict (9:12, no man knows... his hour; lit., "his time"). This refers back to times of misfortune (v. 11), not merely to death. Comparing such times of misfortune to a net and a snare by which birds and fish are caught, Solomon said that such evil times come suddenly and unexpectedly upon them, thus nullifying their abilities.

b. Wisdom may be unrewarded because of negligence (9:13-16)

9:13-16. An example of wisdom not being rewarded (v. 11) is a poor wise man who had delivered a small, poorly defended city from a siege by a powerful king. But the poor man's wisdom went unrewarded because nobody remembered him (also in 1 Samuel 25:31 "remember" conveys the idea of "reward"). Solomon said this example greatly impressed him, that is, it was significant to him (lit., "it was great to me" in the light of his previous discussion, Ecclesiastes 9:11-12). Though wisdom had proven better than strength, that is, military might (cf. 7:11-12; 9:18; Proverbs 21:22), that poor wise man received no benefit from his wisdom. His wisdom was despised and his words were not heeded, and he remained poor and unremembered (i.e., unrewarded with wealth or social esteem; cf. Ecclesiastes 9:11).

c. Wisdom's value may be nullified by a little folly (9:17-10:1)

9:17-10:1. After giving the example of the poor wise man whose wisdom did not benefit him (9:13-16) Solomon warned that though wisdom deserves attention, its value can be nullified by a little folly. Alluding to his previous example, Solomon said The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools because wisdom is better than weapons of war (cf. 7:19; 9:16). Playing on the word "good" or "better" - the same Hebrew word tobah - and the contrast between "one" and "much," Solomon said that one sinner destroys much good. In other words, a little folly can destroy the great value, of wisdom, as dead flies in perfume ruin it by giving it a bad smell. The use of the Hebrew words for outweighs and honor is another interesting wordplay, for both words are used for weight or value and social esteem.

d. Wisdom's value may be nullified by a ruler's caprice (10:2-7)

Speaking of "errors," literally "sin" (v. 4; cf. "sinner," 9:18), "fool," and "fools" (10:3, 6; cf. "folly," v. 1), Solomon gave another example of how a little folly nullifies the great value of wisdom. Though wisdom suggests ways to maintain one's position at court (vv. 2-4), that position may be subverted by an error of some leader.

10:2-4. Solomon set forth the value of wisdom by stating that a wise person has the quality of heart and mind that will protect him from danger (cf. 7:12). This is stated in the words inclines to the right, which are literally "is at his right hand" (as in the KJV); as is well known, the right hand was the place of protection (cf. Psalms 16:8; 110:5; 121:5). Conversely a fool lacks such sense which is evidenced by his foolish behavior. Using a common figure for moral behavior - walking in the way (cf. 1 Samuel 8:3; 2 Kings 21:21) - Solomon said that even as he walks along the road, the fool... shows everyone how stupid he is.
Solomon then gave an example of how wisdom can protect one who possesses it. With a deliberate wordplay on the double sense of the Hebrew verb nuah, meaning "to leave or abandon" or "to give rest to," Solomon advised that the wisest course when confronted with a king's anger is not to leave (tannah.) one's post (i.e., not to resign his office; cf. Ecclesiastes 8:3) because calm and cool composure (cf. Proverbs 14:30 for a somewhat similar use of the noun "calmness") could lay great errors (lit., "sins"; actually it is the anger caused by such sins, a metonymy of cause for effect) to rest (yanniah; cf. Proverbs 16:14 for a similar idea).