Ecclesiastes 8

1 Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated.

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.

2 Observe the commandment of the king, and [that] because of the word of the oath of God.

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

3 Be not hasty; you shall go forth out of his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatever he shall please,

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

4 even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What do you?

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

5 He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgement.

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

6 For to every thing there is time and judgement; for the knowledge of a man is great to him.

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

7 For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be?

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

8 There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary.

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.

9 So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein man has power over man to afflict him.

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.

10 And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and [that] out of the holy place: and they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity.

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.

11 Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil.

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

12 He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before him:

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.

13 but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God.

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.

14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity.

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.

15 Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labour all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun.

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.

16 Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.

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),

17 And I saw all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun; whatever things a man shall endeavour to seek, however a man may labour to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yes, how much soever a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it: for I applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.

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.