I say:[a] Keep the king's command, because of (A)God's oath to him.[b] Be not hasty to (B)go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and (C)who may say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.[c] For there is a time and a way (D)for everything, although man's trouble[d] lies heavy on him.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 8:2 Hebrew lacks say
  2. Ecclesiastes 8:2 Or because of your oath to God
  3. Ecclesiastes 8:5 Or and judgment
  4. Ecclesiastes 8:6 Or evil

Obey the King

Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.(A) Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?(B)

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
    and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,(C)
    though a person may be weighed down by misery.

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