For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
For (Hebrew, kiy (H3588 ), as before: because) he knoweth - an exemplification of man's "great misery" (Ecclesiastes 8:6). The sinner, by neglecting times (e.g., "the accepted time, and the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2), is taken by surprise by the judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 9:12). The godly wise observe the due times of things (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and so, looking for the judgment, are not taken by surprise, though not knowing the precise "when" (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4); they "know the time" to all saving purposes (Romans 13:11).