Ecclesiastes 8

1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

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.

2 I [counsel thee], Keep the king’s command, and that in regard of the oath of God.

I [counsel]: keep the command of a king, even for the sake of an oath [to] God.

3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

Do not be troubled at his presence, you may go, do not stand in an evil thing, for all that he pleases he does.

4 Because the king’s word [hath] power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

Where the word of a king [is] power [is], and who says to him, “What do you do?”

5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man’s heart discerneth time and judgment:

Whoever is keeping a command knows no evil thing, and time and judgment the heart of the wise knows.

6 for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great upon him:

For to every delight there is a time and a judgment, for the misfortune of man is great on him.

7 for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be?

For he does not know that which will be, for when it will be who declares to him?

8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in [that] war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.

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.

9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: [there is] a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt.

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.

10 And withal I saw the wicked buried, and they came [to the grave]; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.

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.

11 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.

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.

12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

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.

13 but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

And good is not to the wicked, and he does not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.

14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

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.

15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him in his labour [all] the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.

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.

16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes: )

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),

17 then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

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.