Ecclesiastes 8
1 The wisdom of a man schyneth in his cheer; and the myytieste schal chaunge his face.
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.
2 I kepe the mouth of the kyng, and the comaundementis and sweryngis of God.
I advise you to obey the king's command because of God's oath to protect him.
3 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;
Do not hurry out of his presence, and do not stand in support of something wrong, for the king does whatever he desires.
4 and his word is ful of power, and no man mai seie to hym, Whi doist thou so?
The king's word rules, so who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 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.
Whoever keeps the king's commands avoids harm. A wise man's heart recognizes the proper course and time of action.
6 Tyme and cesoun is to ech werk; and myche turment is of a man,
For every matter there is a correct response and a time to respond, because the troubles of man are great.
7 for he knowith not thingis passid, and he mai not knowe bi ony messanger thingis to comynge.
No one knows what is coming next. Who can tell him what is coming?
8 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.
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.
9 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.
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.
10 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.
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.
11 Forsothe for the sentence is not brouyt forth soone ayens yuele men, the sones of men doon yuels with outen ony drede.
When a sentence against an evil crime is not executed quickly, it entices the hearts of human beings to do evil.
12 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.
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.
13 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.
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.
14 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.
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.
15 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.
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.
16 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.
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,
17 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.
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.
