Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who [is] as the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of man causes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
The wisdom of a man schyneth in his cheer; and the myytieste schal chaunge his face.
2 I [counsel]: keep the command of a king, even for the sake of an oath [to] God.
I kepe the mouth of the kyng, and the comaundementis and sweryngis of God.
3 Do not be troubled at his presence, you may go, do not stand in an evil thing, for all that he pleases he does.
Haste thou not to go awei fro his face, and dwelle thou not in yuel werk. For he schal do al thing, that he wole;
4 Where the word of a king [is] power [is], and who says to him, “What do you do?”
and his word is ful of power, and no man mai seie to hym, Whi doist thou so?
5 Whoever is keeping a command knows no evil thing, and time and judgment the heart of the wise knows.
He that kepith the comaundement of God `in this lijf, schal not feele ony thing of yuel; the herte of a wijs man vndurstondith tyme and answer.
6 For to every delight there is a time and a judgment, for the misfortune of man is great on him.
Tyme and cesoun is to ech werk; and myche turment is of a man,
7 For he does not know that which will be, for when it will be who declares to him?
for he knowith not thingis passid, and he mai not knowe bi ony messanger thingis to comynge.
8 There is no man ruling over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and there is no authority over the day of death, and there is no discharge in battle, and wickedness does not deliver its possessors.
It is not in the power of man to forbede the spirit, nethir he hath power in the dai of deth, nethir he is suffrid to haue reste, whanne the batel neiyeth; nethir wickidnesse schal saue a wickid man.
9 All this I have seen so as to give my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; a time that man has ruled over man to his own evil.
I bihelde alle thes thingis, and Y yaf myn herte in alle werkis, that ben don vndur the sunne. Sum tyme a man is lord of a man, to his yuel.
10 And so I have seen the wicked buried, and they went in, even from the Holy Place they go, and they are forgotten in the city whether they had so done. This [is] also vanity.
Y siy wickid men biryed, which, whanne thei lyueden yit, weren in hooli place; and thei weren preisid in the citee, as men of iust werkis; but also this is vanyte.
11 Because sentence has not been done [on] an evil work speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is full within them to do evil.
Forsothe for the sentence is not brouyt forth soone ayens yuele men, the sones of men doon yuels with outen ony drede.
12 Though a sinner is doing evil one hundred [times], and prolonging [himself] for it, surely also I know that there is good to those fearing God, who fear before Him.
Netheles of that, that a synnere doith yuel an hundrid sithis, and is suffrid bi pacience, Y knew that good schal be to men dredynge God, that reuerensen his face.
13 And good is not to the wicked, and he does not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.
Good be not to the wickid man, nethir hise daies be maad longe; but passe thei as schadewe, that dreden not the face of the Lord.
14 There is a vanity that has been done on the earth, that there are righteous ones to whom it is coming according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked ones to whom it is coming according to the work of the righteous. I have said that this [is] also vanity.
Also another vanyte is, which is don on erthe. Iust men ben, to whiche yuels comen, as if thei diden the werkis of wickid men; and wickid men ben, that ben so sikur, as if thei han the dedis of iust men; but Y deme also this moost veyn.
15 And I have praised mirth because there is no good to man under the sun except to eat and to drink, and to rejoice, and it remains with him of his labor the days of his life that God has given to him under the sun.
Therfor Y preysid gladnesse, that no good was to a man vndur the sunne, no but to ete, and drynke, and to be ioiful; and that he schulde bere awei with hym silf oneli this of his trauel, in the daies of his lijf, whiche God yaf to hym vndur the sunne.
16 When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that has been done on the earth (for there is also a spectator in whose eyes sleep is not by day and by night),
And Y settide myn herte to knowe wisdom, and to vndurstonde the departing, which is turned in erthe. A man is, that bi daies and niytis takith not sleep with iyen.
17 then I considered all the work of God, that man is not able to find out the work that has been done under the sun, because though man labor to seek, yet he does not find; and even though the wise man speak of knowing he is not able to find.
And Y vndurstood, that of alle the werkis of God, a man may fynde no resoun of tho thingis, that ben don vndur the sunne; and in as myche as he traueilith more to seke, bi so myche he schal fynde lesse; yhe, thouy a wijs man seith that he knowith, he schal not mow fynde.
