Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 4:16
[There is] no end of all the people, [even] of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
16. There is no end of all the people ] The words continue the picture of the crowds who follow the young king.
even of all that have been before them ] The last words are not of time but position. The people are before their king, or rather, he is before them all, going in and out before them (1Sa 18:16; 2Ch 1:10), ruling and guiding. The reference of the words to the Messianic child of Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6, falls under the same category as the interpretation which finds the doctrine of the Trinity in the “threefold cord” of Ecc 4:12. It is true of both that they may be devout applications of the words, but are in no sense explanatory of their meaning.
they also that come after ] This is added as the crowning stroke of the irony of history. The reign which begins so brightly shares the inevitable doom, and ends in darkness, and murmuring and failure. “ Il n’y a pas d’homme necessaire,” and the popular hero of the hour finds himself slighted even in life, and is forgotten by the next generation. The glory of the most popular and successful king shares the common doom and is but as a feeding upon wind. Here again the statement is so wide in its generalization that it is not easy to fix on any historical identification. David, Solomon himself, Jeroboam, Cyrus, Antiochus the Great, Herod have been suggested by the ingenuity of commentators.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 16. There is no end of all the people] This is supposed to refer to the multitudes of people who hail the advent and accession of a new sovereign; for, as Suetonius remarks, A plerisque adorari solem orientem, “Most people adore the rising sun.” But when the new king becomes old, very few regard him; and perhaps he lives long enough to be as much despised by the very persons who before were ready to worship him. This is also a miserable vanity. Thus the blooming heir –
“Shall feel the sad reverse: honoured awhile;
Then, like his sire, contemn’d, abhorr’d, forgot.”
C.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There is no end of all the people: the sense is either,
1. The people which have this humour are without end, or innumerable, as this phrase signifies, Job 22:5; Isa 2:7; 9:7. Or,
2. This humour of the common people hath no end, but passeth from one generation to another; they ever were, and are, and will be unstable and restless, and given to change; which sense the following words seem to favour.
Before them; either,
1. Before the two kings above mentioned, the father and the son, or the predecessor and successor. All those who stood or desired to stand in their presence, and waited upon them, as this phrase is used, 2Sa 16:19; 1Ki 10:8. Or rather,
2. Before the present generation of subjects, who earnestly desired and promoted the change of government here expressed; for these are evidently opposed to them that come after, which all interpreters understand of the people, not of the kings. And so here are three generations of people noted, the authors of the present change, and their parents, and their children, and all are observed to have the same inclinations in these matters.
Shall not rejoice in him; they shall be as weary of the successor, though a wise and worthy prince, as their parents were of his foolish predecessor; the reason whereof is partly from that itch of novelty and curiosity which is natural and common to mankind, and partly from their vain and foolish hopes of advantage from such changes.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Notwithstanding their nowworshipping the rising sun, the heir-apparent, I reflected that”there were no bounds, no stability (2Sa 15:6;2Sa 20:1), no check on the loveof innovation, of all that have been before them,” that is, thepast generation; so
also they that comeafterthat is, the next generation,
shall not rejoice inhimnamely, Rehoboam. The parallel, “shall not rejoice,”fixes the sense of “no bounds,” no permanent adherence,though now men rejoice in him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[There is] no end of all the people, [even] of all that have been before them,…. Before the present generation, the living that walked under the sun; a vast number they were that lived before them, and they were of the same restless temper and disposition; changeable in their affection and behaviour towards their governors; no end of their number, nor any stable affection for, nor settled satisfaction in, their rulers; but this itch of novelty, of having new princes over them, went from age to age, from generation to generation. Some understand this of the king and his son, the predecessor and successor, and of those that went before them; and of their behaviour to the kings that reigned before them; the people have not their end or satisfaction in their governors, but are restless: which comes to the same sense;
they also that come after shall not rejoice in him; that come after the present generation, and after both the reigning prince, and even after his successor; they will not rejoice long in him that shall be upon the throne after them, any more than the present subjects of the old king, or those that now pay their court to the heir apparent; they will be so far from rejoicing in him, that they will loath and despise him, and wish him dead or dethroned, and another in his room.
Surely this also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit; to a king, to see himself thus used by his subjects; for a short time extolled and praised, and then despised and forsaken.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16. Of all that have been before them Really, Of all before whom he was, that is, whose leader he was. His popularity was boundless. Everybody seemed to follow him.
Also Better, yet. They who come after him may find that a brilliant reign has been really disastrous to the land. Or, it may be that his beneficent career was brief, and followed by some one who so spoiled all, that it left no more lasting impression
“Than smoke in air, or on the water, foam.”
Therefore, this career of this man, however successful, was also vanity and a grasping after wind.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS
MY soul! hast thou learnt to form similar conclusions to the Preacher from the same causes; and in a right estimate of human life, made calculations what the close will be? Hast thou beheld the tinge of vanity which is given to all, and from hence directed thy views to all precious Jesus, the complete, the soul-satisfying, the supreme, the only good? Oh! thou the pearl of great price! in thee I find everything that is substantial and satisfying: yea, durable riches and righteousness. Possessing thee, thy church must possess all things: for thou art all in all to thy people. And what endears thee, oh! thou lovely One, to the heart of all that know thee, and enjoy thee, is, that thou art freely given, freely bestowed by God our Father, without our deserts, without our conscious want of thee, without our desire, nay, without our first wishes, and even against all our natural dislike to thee. Yes! blessed Jesus! never should we have sought thee, hadst thou not sought us: never should we have loved thee, hadst thou not first loved us. But in the endless pursuit of any, and every vanity rather than Jesus, would our poor, blind, and deluded nature, have gone on, turning from one creature comfort to another, until death had finished all, and we had lain down in the silent grave, with sorrow and disappointment!
Oh! ye that are now entering life, full of high prospects of health and youth and the many gilded objects before you, inviting you by their syren songs to ruin; oh! that the Lord may give you to seek grace, to avoid being lost amidst the deceitful pursuits of what the world calls pleasure. Look to Solomon. Hear what the Preacher said. And before you have run the mad round of vanity and folly, which can terminate in nothing short of disappointment and vexation of spirit, make now a right calculation. Look unto Jesus. Behold how glorious in his person: how blessed in his grace and mercy! how suited to the circumstances of poor, fallen, dying creatures! Think, from what misery he can save – Think to what happiness he can bring – How delightful his fellowship! How sweet his society. And while he becomes all that the soul can need now; how fully will he satisfy the soul to all eternity? Hear, ye young; and the Lord direct your choice. It is Jesus that calls at the entering in of the gates: and his promise is like himself, unalterable and sure. He saith, I love them that love me: and those that seek me early shall find me.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ecc 4:16
Ver. 16. There is no end of all the people, ] i.e., They are infinitely discontented and restless in their desires after a new and another governor. A , as Thucydides long since observed, The present government, be it never so good, is always grievous. “O that I were made judge in the land,” said Absalom. 2Sa 15:4 Oh that thou wert, said the people, who yet soon had enough of him. And so had they of their new king, Saul, whom contra gentes, they would needlessly have, after the manner of all other nations. 1Sa 8:6-7 How soon did the Baptist grow stale to the Jews, that had lately “heard him gladly,” Mar 6:20 and was no more set by than “a reed shaken with the wind!” Mat 11:7 How suddenly did they change their note concerning Christ from “Hosanna” to Crucify him! The common people are like to children, saith an interpreter, that rest not contented with any schoolmaster, and like to servants that love to change every year their masters. People are desirous to hear new preachers, as feasters to hear new songs and new instruments. Eze 33:32
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
no end: 2Sa 15:12, 2Sa 15:13, 1Ki 1:5-7, 1Ki 1:40, 1Ki 12:10-16
they also: Jdg 9:19, Jdg 9:20, 2Sa 18:7, 2Sa 18:8, 2Sa 19:9
this: Ecc 1:14, Ecc 2:11, Ecc 2:17, Ecc 2:26
Reciprocal: Ecc 1:2 – General Ecc 4:4 – This is Ecc 5:10 – this Ecc 6:11 – General Ecc 11:8 – All that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ecc 4:16. There is no end of the people The sense seems to be, either, 1st, The people who have this humour are without end, or innumerable: or, 2d, This humour of the common people hath no end, but passes from one generation to another: they ever were, and are, and will be, unstable and restless, and given to change: which sense the following words favour: Even of all that have been before them Before the present generation of subjects, who earnestly desired and promoted the change of government here expressed. And so, here are three generations of people mentioned; the authors of the present change, and their parents, and their children; and all are observed to have the same inclinations in these matters. They also that come after shall not rejoice in him They shall be as weary of the successor, though a wise and worthy prince, as their parents were of his foolish predecessor. Surely, this also is vanity From all this it appears, that happiness is not to be found in honour and power; no, not in the very highest pitch of it: for there also is not only dissatisfaction to be found, but many dangers, troubles, and vexatious cares, which much disturb and perplex the minds of those that possess it. See Bishop Patrick.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:16 [There is] no {l} end of all the people, [even] of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
(l) They never cease by all means to creep into favour, but when they do not obtain their greedy desires they think themselves abused, as others have been in times past, and so care no more for him.