Ecclesiastes 8

1 Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed.

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.

2 I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God.

I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.

3 Be not quick to go from before him. Be not fixed in an evil design, because he does whatever is pleasing to him.

Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,

4 The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing?

for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

5 Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision.

Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.

6 For every purpose there is a time and a decision, because the sorrow of man is great in him.

For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.

7 No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?

For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?

8 No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe.

There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practise it.

9 All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.

10 And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose.

So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.

11 Because punishment for an evil work comes not quickly, the minds of the sons of men are fully given to doing evil.

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.

Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.

13 But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God.

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.

14 There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

15 So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labour all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

16 When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

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),

17 Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

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 labours 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.