Eccl 8:1

“Moreover, wisdom, when it is found in a man, shows itself also in its possessor's face, and makes his countenance to shine; as, on the other hand, effrontery convicts the man in whom it has taken up its abode, so soon as he is seen, as one worthy of hatred. And it is on every account right to give careful heed to the words of the king, and by all manner of means to avoid an oath, especially one taken in the name of God. It may be fit at the same time to notice an evil word, but then it is necessary to guard against any blasphemy against God. For it will not be possible to find fault with Him when He inflicts any penalty, nor to gainsay the decrees of the Only Lord and King. But it will be better and more profitable for a man to abide by the holy commandments, and to keep himself apart from the words of the wicked. For the wise man knows and discerns beforehand the judgment, which shall come at the right time, and sees that it shall be just. For all things in the life of men await the retribution from above; but the wicked man does not seem to know verily that as there is a mighty providence over him, nothing in the future shall be hid. He knows not indeed the things which shall be; for no man shall be able to announce any one of them to him duly: for no one shall be found so strong as to be able to prevent the angel who spoils him of his life; neither shall any means be devised for cancelling in any way the appointed time of death. But even as the man who is captured in the midst of the battle can only see flight cut off on every side, so all the impiety of man perishes utterly together. And I am astonished, as often as I contemplate what and how great things men have studied to do for the hurt of their neighbours. But this I know, that the impious are snatched prematurely from this life, and put out of the way because they have given themselves to vanity. For whereas the providential judgment of God does not overtake all speedily, by reason of His great long-suffering, and the wicked is not punished immediately on the commission of his offenses,— for this reason he thinks that he may sin the more, as though he were to get off with impunity, not understanding that the transgressor shall not escape the knowledge of God even after a long interval. This, moreover, is the chief good, to reverence God; for if once the impious man fall away from Him, he shall not be suffered long to misuse his own folly. But a most vicious and false opinion often prevails among men concerning both the righteous and the unrighteous. For they form a judgment contrary to truth regarding each of them; and the man who is really righteous does not get the credit of being so, while, on the other hand, the impious man is deemed prudent and upright. And this I judge to be among the most grievous of errors. Once, indeed, I thought that the chief good consisted in eating and drinking, and that he was most highly favoured of God who should enjoy these things to the utmost in his life; and I fancied that this kind of enjoyment was the only comfort in life. And, accordingly, I gave heed to nothing but to this conceit, so that neither by night nor by day did I withdraw myself from all those things which have ever been discovered to minister luxurious delights to men. And this much I learned thereby, that the man who mingles in these things shall by no means be able, however sorely he may labour with them, to find the real good.”

“"Who is like the wise man? And who knows what things mean? A man's wisdom lights up his face, and the boldness of his face is transformed. "He had taught above that it is hard to find a good man, and he had answered the question to the contrary, saying that men are made good by God, but that they fall into sin because of their own free will. Now he lists what qualities God has given to a good man, to show his glory: wisdom obviously, and reason and providence, and he knows that the secrets that are hidden by God enter his heart. But he is also talking about himself here indirectly, because no one was as wise as Solomon was, and none answered the problems he set. And because his wisdom was praised by all, wisdom which he not only carried on the inside, but also wore on the surface of his skin, and which shone from his face, he moreover imbued all men with the wisdom which shone forth from his visage. Where we have, 'who is like the wise man?' the Septuagint reads: "who knows wise men?" and where we read, 'the boldness of his face is transformed', the Septuagint has, "and the unwise is disliked by his face". And although in fact there are many, who engage themselves in the pursuit of wisdom, it is found with great difficulty, but he is able to tell a wise man though from those, who only seem to be wise. Though too there are even many more, who say that they are able to let themselves tell the secrets of the Scriptures, it is not common however, that one will actually find the true answer. But what follows- "the wisdom of a man will light up his face and the wicked is hated by his face" - can be explained in the way that Paul explains it: "but we all see the glory of God with our face uncovered" [II Cor. 3, 18.]. The writer of the Psalms also says, "the light of your face shines down upon us, O Lord" [Ps. 4,7.]. But he says that the wisdom of man is not different from the wisdom of God. Although it is the wisdom of God, it then begins to be also a part of the human faculty, but only when it is in him who merits wisdom. Every heretic, who defends his false doctrines, shows his foolishness on his face. Then Marcion and Valentinus say that they are of a better nature than the Creator himself! This can be seen in another way, if they contend to hope for this wisdom, but do not already possess it.”

“Above he described the vanity of concupiscence. Here against that vanity he intends to give the remedy of wisdom: for no one is rescued from concupiscence unless he walks with wisdom. He exhorts therefore in this part to adhere to wisdom from a fourfold consideration: first, from the consideration of its nobility; second, of its power; third, of its utility; fourth, of the opportuneness of time. He exhorts therefore to adhere to wisdom from the consideration of its nobility, which is weighed in this, that it renders a man noble and glorious both with respect to appearance and with respect to speech. And this he first proposes by questioning, then confirms by responding. Who is such as the wise man? That is, who is so distinguished? Wisdom 8: "On account of her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor among the elders and the young," he speaks of wisdom. Who is so distinguished in speech? Whence he says: And who knows the explanation of a word? Supply: except the wise man. Wisdom 8: "He knows the subtleties of speeches," etc. And therefore in doubtful matters the wise man is to be heard with reverence; thus Wisdom 8: "The faces of princes shall wonder at me; when I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will look upon me, and when I discourse at greater length, they will lay their hand upon their mouth." He proposed by questioning, now he confirms by responding; therefore he says: The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance. Proverbs 17: "Wisdom shines in the face of the prudent man," that is, it appears in his works. Sirach 19: "By his appearance a man is known, and by the meeting of his face a sensible person is recognized." For just as a good man is known by his countenance, so a wise man by his works. Nor is it a wonder if he is distinguished in appearance, because God does this; whence he says: And the Most Powerful shall change his face. This Most Powerful One is God; Job 36: "God does not cast away the mighty, since He Himself is mighty"; and afterwards: "Behold, God is exalted in His strength, and no one is like Him among lawgivers." He changes the face — the exterior — by first changing the interior, that is, by converting it to Himself. For the face of the soul is the higher portion of reason, by which it is naturally disposed to see God. This face God alone changes; Proverbs 21: "As the divisions of waters, so is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord; whithersoever He wills, He shall incline it."”

“"Who is like the wise? and who understandeth the interpretation of things? The wisdom of a man maketh his face bright, and the rudeness of his face is changed." Unlike this saying: "Who is like the wise?" are the formulas חכם מי, Hos 14:9, Jer 11:11, Psa 107:43, which are compared by Hitzig and others. "Who is like the wise?" means: Who is equal to him? and this question, after the scheme מי־כמכה, Exo 15:11, presents him as one who has not his like among men. Instead of כּה the word כּחכם might be used, after לחכם, Ecc 2:16, etc. The syncope is, as at Eze 40:25, omitted, which frequently occurs, particularly in the more modern books, Eze 47:22; Ch2 10:7; Ch2 25:10; Ch2 29:27; Neh 9:19; Neh 12:38. The regular giving of Dagesh to כ after מי, with Jethib, not Mahpach, is as at Ecc 8:7 after כּי; Jethib is a disjunctive. The second question is not כּיודע, but יודע וּמי, and thus does not mean: who is like the man of understanding, but: who understands, viz., as the wise man does; thus it characterizes the incomparably excellent as such. Many interpreters (Oetinger, Ewald, Hitz., Heiligst., Burg., Elst., Zckl.) persuade themselves that דּבר פּשׁר is meant of the understanding of the proverb, 8b. The absence of the art., says Hitzig, does not mislead us: of a proverb, viz., the following; but in this manner determinate ideas may be made from all indeterminate ones. Rightly, Gesenius: explicationem ullius rei; better, as at Ecc 7:8 : cujusvis rei. Ginsburg compares נבון דּבר, Sa1 16:18, which, however, does not mean him who has the knowledge of things, but who is well acquainted with words. It is true that here also the chief idea פּשׁר first leads to the meaning verbum (according to which the lxx, Jer., the Targ., and Syr. translate; the Venet.: ἑρμηνείαν λόγου); but since the unfolding or explaining (pēshěr) refers to the actual contents of the thing spoken, verbi and rei coincide. The wise man knows how to explain difficult things, to unfold mysterious things; in short, he understands how to go to the foundation of things.”