Ecclesiastes 8
8
1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God. 3Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him, 4for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?” 5Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure. 6For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him. 7For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be? 8There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practise it.
9 All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt. 10So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity. 11Because 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. 12Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
14 There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labour all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night), 17then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labours to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.
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Ecclesiastes 8
8
Obey the King
1No one is like the wise man.
He can understand what things mean.
His wisdom makes him happy.
It makes his sad face happy.
2I advise you always to obey the king’s command. Do this because you made a promise to God. 3Don’t be too quick to quit the job the king gave you. But don’t support something that is wrong. Remember, the king does whatever he pleases. 4The king is the highest power. No one can tell him what to do.
5A person will be safe if he obeys the king’s command.
A wise man knows how to do the right thing at the right time.
6And there is a right time and a right way for everything.
Yet people often have many troubles.
7They do not know what the future holds.
No one can tell them what will happen.
8No one has the power to keep the wind from blowing.
No one has the power to stop his own death.
During war a soldier cannot go home.
So also, the person who does evil will not get away free.
Justice, Rewards and Punishment
9I saw all of this as I studied. I considered all that is done here on earth. And I saw men rule others and hurt them. 10I saw evil people being buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place. Good things were said about them in the same towns where they had done evil. This is senseless, too.
11Sometimes people are not punished right away for the bad things they do. That makes other people want to do bad things, too. 12A sinner might do a hundred evil things. And he might live a long time. Even so, I know it will be better for those who honor God. They fear him, and he sees it. 13And I also know it will not go well for evil people. Their lives will be like a brief shadow. They will not live very long. 14But sometimes something senseless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people. This is truly senseless. 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. These joys will help people do the hard work God gives them here on earth.
We Cannot Understand All God Does
16I used my mind to learn about all that happens on earth. I saw how busy people are. They work day and night and hardly ever sleep. 17I also saw all that God has done. Nobody can understand what God does here on earth. No matter how hard a person tries to understand it, he cannot. Even if a wise man says he understands, he really cannot. No one at all can really understand it.
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