Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is a wise man? Who knows what the events in life mean? Wisdom in a man causes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
sapientia hominis lucet in vultu eius et potentissimus faciem illius commutavit
2 I advise you to obey the king's command because of God's oath to protect him.
ego os regis observo et praecepta iuramenti Dei
3 Do not hurry out of his presence, and do not stand in support of something wrong, for the king does whatever he desires.
ne festines recedere a facie eius neque permaneas in opere malo quia omne quod voluerit faciet
4 The king's word rules, so who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
et sermo illius potestate plenus est nec dicere ei quisquam potest quare ita facis
5 Whoever keeps the king's commands avoids harm. A wise man's heart recognizes the proper course and time of action.
qui custodit praeceptum non experietur quicquam mali tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intellegit
6 For every matter there is a correct response and a time to respond, because the troubles of man are great.
omni negotio tempus est et oportunitas et multa hominis adflictio
7 No one knows what is coming next. Who can tell him what is coming?
quia ignorat praeterita et ventura nullo scire potest nuntio
8 No one is ruler over his breath so as to stop the breath, and no one has power over the day of his death. No one is discharged from the army during a battle, and wickedness will not rescue those who are its slaves.
non est in hominis dicione prohibere spiritum nec habet potestatem in die mortis nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello neque salvabit impietas impium
9 I have realized all this; I have applied my heart to every kind of work that is done under the sun. There is a time when a person oppresses another person to that person's hurt.
omnia haec consideravi et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus quae fiunt sub sole interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum
10 So I saw the wicked buried publicly. They were taken from the holy area and buried and were praised by people in the city where they had done their wicked deeds. This also is uselessness.
vidi impios sepultos qui etiam cum adviverent in loco sancto erant et laudabantur in civitate quasi iustorum operum sed et hoc vanitas est
11 When a sentence against an evil crime is not executed quickly, it entices the hearts of human beings to do evil.
etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia absque ullo timore filii hominum perpetrant mala
12 Even though a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives a long time, yet I know that it will be better for those who respect God, for those who stand before him and show him respect.
attamen ex eo quod peccator centies facit malum et per patientiam sustentatur ego cognovi quod erit bonum timentibus Deum qui verentur faciem eius
13 But it will not go well for a wicked man; his life will not be prolonged. His days are like a fleeting shadow because he does not honor God.
non sit bonum impio nec prolongentur dies eius sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Dei
14 There is another useless vapor—something else that is done on the earth. Things happen to righteous people as they happen to wicked people, and things happen to wicked people as they happen to righteous people. I say that this also is useless vapor.
est et alia vanitas quae fit super terram sunt iusti quibus multa proveniunt quasi opera egerint impiorum et sunt impii qui ita securi sunt quasi iustorum facta habeant sed et hoc vanissimum iudico
15 So I recommend happiness, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and drink and to be happy. It is happiness that will accompany him in his labor for all the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
laudavi igitur laetitiam quod non esset homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet et biberet atque gauderet et hoc solum secum auferret de labore suo in diebus vitae quos dedit ei Deus sub sole
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to understand the work that is done on the earth, work often done without sleep for the eyes at night or in the day,
et adposui cor meum ut scirem sapientiam et intellegerem distentionem quae versatur in terra est homo qui diebus ac noctibus somnum oculis non capit
17 then I considered all of God's deeds, and that man cannot understand the work that is done under the sun. No matter how much a man labors to find the answers, he will not find them. Even though a wise man might believe he knows, he really does not.
et intellexi quod omnium operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole et quanto plus laboraverit ad quaerendum tanto minus inveniat etiam si dixerit sapiens se nosse non poterit repperire
