Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is like the wise? and who knoweth [as well] the explanation of a thing? a man's wisdom enlighteneth his face, and the boldness of his face will be lessened.
Who is really a wise man, and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of a man, lighteth up his countenance, but, by defiance of countenance, one is disfigured.
2 I [counsel thee], Keep the king's command, and that which regardeth the oath [to him taken] by God.
I [said], The bidding of the king, observe thou, even out of regard to the oath of God.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; engage not in an evil thing; for whatsoever pleaseth him, can he do;
Not rashly from his presence, shouldst thou go: do not take thy stand in a vexatious thing, —for, whatsoever he pleaseth, he will do.
4 Because the word of a king is powerful; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?—
Where the word of a king is, there is power, —who then may say to him, What wouldst thou do?
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment will experience no evil thing: and a wise man's heart knoweth both time and the just consequence.
He that observeth the commandment, will not notice a vexatious thing, —and, of time and manner, will the heart of the wise take note.
6 Because for every pursuit there is a time and a just consequence; for the evil of man [resteth] heavily upon him.
For, to every pursuit, there is a time and a manner, —when, the vexation of man, is great concerning it.
7 For he knoweth not that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
For there is no one who knoweth what shall be, for, when it shall be, who will tell him?
8 No man hath control over the spirit to detain the spirit; and there is no control over the day of death; and there is no representation in that war; and wickedness will not deliver those that practise it.
No man, hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit, and, none, hath power over the day of death, and there is no furlough in war, —neither shall lawlessness deliver them who are given thereto.
9 All this have I seen, and directed my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time when one man ruleth over another to his own injury.
All this, had I seen, and tried to apply my heart to every work which was done under the sun, —at such time as one man had power over another man, to his hurt.
10 Then also did I see the wicked buried, who had gone to their rest; but those who had acted correctly had to go away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. Also this is vanity.
And, thereupon, I considered the lawless when buried, when they had entered, [their graves], that, from the place of the Holy One, they used to go and boast in the city that they had so done, —even this, was vanity.
11 Because the punishment against evil deeds is not executed speedily, therefore is the heart of the sons of men filled up in them to do evil.
Because sentence against a wicked work is not executed speedily—on this account, the heart of the sons of men is fully set within them, to commit wickedness.
12 But let a sinner do evil a hundred times, and [God] withhold long his punishment from him; still do I truly know for certain that it will be well with those that fear God, because they are afraid of him;
Though a sinner be committing wickedness a hundred times, and continuing long in his own way, yet I surely know that it shall be well to them who revere God, who stand in awe before him;
13 And that it will not be well with the wicked, and that he will not endure many days, like the shadow; because he is not afraid of God.
but, well, shall it not be to the lawless man, neither shall he lengthen out his days like a shadow, —because he standeth not in awe before God.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Here was a vain thing which was done upon the earth—that there were righteous men unto whom it happened according to the work of the lawless, and there were lawless men, unto whom it happened according to the work of the righteous, —I said, that, even this, was vanity.
15 Therefore do I praise joyfulness, that there is nothing better for man under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful; for this will adhere to him in his toil, during the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.—
Then extolled I, gladness, in that there was nothing better for a man, under the sun, than to eat and to drink, and to be glad, —since, that, should tarry with him in his toil, for the days of his life which God had given him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the employment that is done upon the earth, how even neither by day nor by night sleep is seen in the eyes of some men:
When I gave my heart, to know wisdom, and to consider the business that was done upon the earth, then surely, by day and by night, there was one who suffered not his eyes, to sleep.
17 Then did I see [in] the whole work of God, that a man is not able to find out the work that is done under the sun; inasmuch as though a man were to toil to seek for it, he would yet not find it; and even if the wise were to think to know it, he would yet not be able to find it.
Then I considered all the work of God, that man could not find out the work that was done under the sun, inasmuch as man toileth in seeking and yet cannot find, —yea, even though the wise man should say he knoweth, yet can he not find it out.
