Ecclesiastes 8 · a question people ask
8:5 says a wise heart "will know the time and procedure" (8:5), but 8:17 says even a wise man "won’t be able to find it" (8:17). Which is it?
The chapter says both, and says what each is about. 8:5 is about "the time and procedure" (8:5), and the next verse says, "For there is a time and procedure for every purpose" (8:6). But 8:7 goes on, "For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?" (8:7). And 8:17 is about "the work that is done under the sun" (8:17): "Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it" (8:17). The chapter began by asking, "Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?" (8:1), and the Preacher himself set out "to know wisdom" (8:16). The chapter doesn't say how these sayings fit together, and these notes won't smooth them out.
The verses
“Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.”
“Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure. For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him. For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?”
“When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night), then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.”