Ecclesiastes 6:8
in Ecclesiastes 6What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?
KJV
For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor 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.
This site's exposition
All a man’s labor is for his mouth
on Ecclesiastes 6:7-9
The chapter turns to the common case: All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. The question What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool levels rank. The proverb sets what the eye can see above the wandering of desire.
This site's exposition
the wise man over the fool
Clarke answers from the body's needs: wise man and fool alike must eat to live, and both come to death. Wesley reads the poor man as skilled and industrious. Henry names his gain: he knows how to live content and is honored among others.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"All man's toil is for his mouth, yet his wants are never satisfied. What advantage then has the wise man over the fool? What less has the pauper who knows how to conduct himself among the living? "All that men toil at in this world is consumed by the mouth and taken to be digested in the stomach after it has been ground down by the teeth. And when a little bit has pleased the palette, it seems to create a desire, so long as it is held in the mouth.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"What more does he have" etc. He set forth above the remedy against the vanity of malice and against the vanity of avarice: here thirdly he sets forth the remedy against the vanity of imprudence. Against this, however, the supreme remedy is the acquisition of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Why, he is better beloved and more respected among his neighbours, and has a better interest than many a rich man that is griping and haughty. Why he has as much of the comfort of this life, has food and raiment, and is therewith content, and so is as truly rich as he that has abundance.
Both are subject to the same calamities, and partakers of the same comforts of this life. The poor - More than the poor that doth not know this. He means such a poor man as is ingenious and industrious; fit for service and business.
For what hath the wise more than the fool,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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" (Ps 116:9).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יּוֹתֵ֥ר | yoter | advantage | H3148 → | 9 times |
| לֶחָכָ֖ם | lechakham | [belongs] to the wise person | H2450 → | 138 times |
| מִֽן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַכְּסִ֑יל | hakesil | the fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לֶּעָנִ֣י | leani | [belongs] to the poor [person] | H6041 → | |
| יוֹדֵ֔עַ | yodea' | [who] knows | H3045 → | 945 times |
| לַהֲלֹ֖ךְ | lahalokh | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נֶ֥גֶד | neged | before | H5048 → | |
| הַחַיִּֽים׃ | hachaiyim | the living | H2416 → | 498 times |
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יּוֹתֵ֥רadvantage
yoterH3148 →9 times
לֶחָכָ֖ם[belongs] to the wise person
lechakhamH2450 →138 times
מִֽן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַכְּסִ֑ילthe fool
hakesilH3684 →70 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לֶּעָנִ֣י[belongs] to the poor [person]
leaniH6041 →
יוֹדֵ֔עַ[who] knows
yodea'H3045 →945 times
לַהֲלֹ֖ךְto walk
lahalokhH1980 →1546 times
נֶ֥גֶדbefore
negedH5048 →
הַחַיִּֽים׃the living
hachaiyimH2416 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:6
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Philippians 4:13
Through
1 Timothy 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:28
He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
- Acts 14:17
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Matthew 19:23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Proverbs 11:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.