Ecclesiastes 8
8
Obey the King
1No one is like the wise person
who can understand what things mean.
Wisdom brings happiness;
it makes sad faces happy.
2Obey the king’s command, because you made a promise to God. 3Don’t be too quick to leave the king. Don’t support something that is wrong, because the king does whatever he pleases. 4What the king says is law; no one tells him what to do.
5Whoever obeys the king’s command will be safe.
A wise person does the right thing at the right time.
6There is a right time and a right way for everything,
yet people often have many troubles.
7They do not know what the future holds,
and no one can tell them what will happen.
8No one can control the wind
or stop his own death.
No soldier is released in times of war,
and evil does not set free those who do evil.
Justice, Rewards, and Punishment
9I saw all of this as I considered all that is done here on earth. Sometimes people harm those they control. 10I saw the funerals of evil people who used to go in and out of the holy place. They were honored in the same towns where they had done evil. This is useless, too.
11When evil people are not punished right away, it makes others want to do evil, too. 12Though a sinner might do a hundred evil things and might live a long time, I know it will be better for those who honor God. 13I also know it will not go well for evil people, because they do not honor God. Like a shadow, they will not last. 14Sometimes something useless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. I say that this is also useless. 15So I decided it was more important to enjoy life. The best that people can do here on earth is to eat, drink, and enjoy life, because these joys will help them do the hard work God gives them here on earth.
We Cannot Understand All God Does
16I tried to understand all that happens on earth. I saw how busy people are, working day and night and hardly ever sleeping. 17I also saw all that God has done. Nobody can understand what God does here on earth. No matter how hard people try to understand it, they cannot. Even if wise people say they understand, they cannot; no one can really understand it.
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Ecclesiastes 8: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 8
8
1How wonderful to be wise,
to analyze and interpret things.
Wisdom lights up a person’s face,
softening its harshness.
Obedience to the King
2Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.
7Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.
The Wicked and the Righteous
9I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised#8:10 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; many Hebrew manuscripts read and are forgotten. in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
14And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!
15So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.
16In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 17I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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