Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? the wisedome of a man doth make his face to shine: and the strength of his face shalbe changed.
Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
2 I aduertise thee to take heede to ye mouth of the King, and to the worde of the othe of God.
Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
3 Haste not to goe forth of his sight: stand not in an euill thing: for he will doe whatsoeuer pleaseth him.
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
4 Where the word of ye King is, there is power, and who shall say vnto him, What doest thou?
For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He that keepeth the commandement, shall knowe none euill thing, and the heart of the wise shall knowe the time and iudgement.
Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
6 For to euery purpose there is a time and iudgement, because the miserie of man is great vpon him.
For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
7 For he knoweth not that which shalbe: for who can tell him when it shalbe?
Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
8 Man is not lorde ouer the spirit to retaine the spirite: neither hath hee power in the day of death, nor deliuerance in the battell, neither shall wickednesse deliuer the possessers thereof.
As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 All this haue I seene, and haue giuen mine heart to euery worke, which is wrought vnder the sunne, and I sawe a time that man ruleth ouer man to his owne hurt.
All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.
10 And likewise I sawe the wicked buried, and they returned, and they that came from the holy place, were yet forgotten in the citie where they had done right: this also is vanitie.
Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
11 Because sentence against an euill worke is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to doe euill.
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
12 Though a sinner doe euill an hundreth times, and God prolongeth his dayes, yet I knowe that it shalbe well with them that feare the Lord, and doe reuerence before him.
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
13 But it shall not be well to the wicked, neither shall he prolong his dayes: he shall be like a shadowe, because he feareth not before God.
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There is a vanitie, which is done vpon the earth, that there be righteous men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the wicked: and there be wicked men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the iust: I thought also that this is vanitie.
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.
15 And I praysed ioy: for there is no goodnesse to man vnder the sunne, saue to eate and to drinke and to reioyce: for this is adioyned to his labour, the dayes of his life that God hath giuen him vnder the sunne.
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
16 When I applied mine heart to knowe wisedome, and to behold the busines that is done on earth, that neither day nor night the eyes of man take sleepe,
When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
17 Then I behelde the whole worke of God, that man cannot finde out ye worke that is wrought vnder the sunne: for the which man laboureth to seeke it, and cannot finde it: yea, and though the wise man thinke to knowe it, he cannot finde it.
I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.
