Ecclesiastes 8
1 Sapientia hominis lucet in vultu eius, et potentissimus faciem illius commutabit.
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 Ego os regis observo, et praecepta iuramenti Dei.
I [said], The bidding of the king, observe thou, even out of regard to the oath of God.
3 Ne festines recedere a facie eius, neque permaneas in opere malo: quia omne, quod voluerit, faciet:
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 et sermo illius potestate plenus est: nec dicere ei quisquam potest: Quare ita facis?
Where the word of a king is, there is power, —who then may say to him, What wouldst thou do?
5 Qui custodit praeceptum, non experietur quidquam mali. Tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intelligit.
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 Omni negotio tempus est, et opportunitas, et multa hominis afflictio:
For, to every pursuit, there is a time and a manner, —when, the vexation of man, is great concerning it.
7 quia ignorat praeterita, et futura nullo scire potest nuncio.
For there is no one who knoweth what shall be, for, when it shall be, who will tell him?
8 Non est in hominis potestate prohibere spiritum, nec habet potestatem in die mortis, nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello, neque salvabit impietas impium.
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 Omnia haec consideravi, et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus, quae fiunt sub sole. Interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum.
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 Vidi impios sepultos: qui etiam cum adhuc viverent, in loco sancto erant, et laudabantur in civitate quasi iustorum operum. sed et hoc vanitas est.
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 Etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala.
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 Attamen peccator ex eo quod centies facit malum, et per patientiam sustentatur, ego cognovi quod erit bonum timentibus Deum, qui verentur faciem eius.
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 Non sit bonum impio, nec prolongentur dies eius, sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Domini.
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 Est et alia vanitas, super terram. sunt iusti, quibus mala proveniunt, quasi opera egerint impiorum: et sunt impii, qui ita securi sunt, quasi iustorum facta habeant. sed et hoc vanissimum iudico.
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 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 suae, quos dedit ei Deus sub sole.
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 Et apposui cor meum ut scirem sapientiam, et intelligerem distentionem, quae versatur in terra: est homo, qui diebus et noctibus somnum non capit oculis.
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 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 reperire.
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.
