Ecclesiastes 8
The Message
8 There’s nothing better than being wise,
Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.
Wisdom puts light in the eyes,
And gives gentleness to words and manners.
No One Can Control the Wind
2-7 Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don’t worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You’re serving his pleasure, not yours. The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, “What are you doing?” Carrying out orders won’t hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, there’s a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It’s true that no one knows what’s going to happen, or when. Who’s around to tell us?
8 No one can control the wind or lock it in a box.
No one has any say-so regarding the day of death.
No one can stop a battle in its tracks.
No one who does evil can be saved by evil.
9 All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that’s going on in this world. As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.
One Fate for Everybody
10 One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies—and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed.
11 Because the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in general think they can get by with murder.
12-13 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I’m still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a “good” life. No matter how many days he lives, they’ll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn’t fear God.
* * *
14 Here’s something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what’s coming to the wicked, and bad people get what’s coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It’s smoke.
15 So, I’m all for just going ahead and having a good time—the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time—compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.
16-17 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you’ll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you’re not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won’t get to the bottom of it.
Ecclesiastes 8
International Standard Version
The Wise Use of Power
8 Who is really wise?
Who knows how to interpret this saying:
“A person’s wisdom improves his appearance,
softening a harsh countenance.”
The Wisdom of Pleasing Leaders
2 I advise[a] doing what the king says, especially regarding an oath to God. 3 Don’t be in a hurry to leave him, and don’t persist in evil, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s command is powerful, who is able to challenge him, asking, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his commands will not experience harm, and the wise in heart will discern both the appropriate time and response.[b] 6 Indeed, there is an appropriate time and a response[c] for every circumstance, since human misery weighs heavily upon him. 7 For he has absolutely no knowledge what will happen, since who can declare to him when it will come about? 8 Just as no human being has control over the wind[d] to restrain it, so also no human being has control over the day of his death. Just as no one is discharged during war, so wickedness will not release those who practice[e] it.
9 I observed all this, and carefully considered everything that is undertaken on earth, especially the time when someone dominates another to his detriment. 10 So I watched the wicked being entombed. They used to come in and out of the Holy Place,[f] but now they are forgotten in the city, where they used to work. This, too, is pointless.
The Wisdom of Fearing God
11 Whenever a sentence for a crime is not carried out swiftly, the human mind[g] becomes determined to commit evil. 12 Even though a sinner does what is wrong a hundred times and still survives, nevertheless I also know that things will go well for those who fear God, who fear in his presence. 13 But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life[h] like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.
Fruitless Righteousness, Fruitful Evil
14 Here is a pointless thing that happens on earth: A righteous man receives what happens to the wicked, and a wicked man receives what happens to the righteous. I concluded that this, too, is pointless. 15 So then I recommended enjoyment of life, because it is better on earth for a man to eat, drink, and be happy, since this will stay with him throughout his struggle all the days of his life, which God grants him on earth.
16 When I dedicated myself to experience wisdom and to observe what is undertaken on earth—even going without sleep day and night— 17 I saw all of it as the activity of God. Frankly, a human being cannot understand what happens on earth, because however hard a man works to discover it, he will not find out. Despite what he thinks he knows, he will not be able to figure it out.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 The Heb. lacks advise
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 Lit. judgment
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 Lit. judgment
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or spirit
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or serve
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 I.e. the Temple
- Ecclesiastes 8:11 Lit. the heart of the sons of men within them
- Ecclesiastes 8:13 Lit. days
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
