Ecclesiastes 8
Complete Jewish Bible
8 Who can be compared with a wise person?
Who else knows what a thing means?
Wisdom lights up the face
and softens a grim appearance.
2 Keep the king’s command
because of the oath before God.
3 Don’t be quick to leave his presence,
and don’t persist in doing what is wrong,
for he does whatever he pleases.
4 After all, his word is final;
who can challenge him, “Why are you doing that?”
5 Whoever obeys his command
will never come to harm,
and the wise person will know
the right time and judgment.
6 For to everything there is
a right time and a judgment,
since people are greatly troubled
7 by uncertainty over the future;
even when the event takes place,
who will tell them about it?
8 Just as no one has the power
to keep the wind from blowing,
so no one has power
over the day of death.
If one is drafted to fight a war,
one can’t send a substitute;
likewise the wicked won’t escape death
by their wickedness.
9 All this I have seen, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun when one person tyrannizes another. 10 Thus I saw the wicked buried; they had even come from the Holy Place. But those who had acted uprightly were forgotten in the city. This too is a futile thing; 11 because the punishment decreed for an evil act is not promptly carried out; therefore people who plan to do evil are strengthened in their intentions. 12 For a sinner can do evil a hundred times and still live a long life; although I know that in the end things will go well with those who fear God, because they fear him. 13 But things will not go well with the wicked; and, like a shadow, he will not prolong his days; because he doesn’t fear God.
14 There is something frustrating that occurs on earth, namely, that there are righteous people to whom things happen as if they were doing wicked deeds; and, again, there are wicked people to whom things happen as if they were doing righteous deeds. I say that this too is pointless.
15 So I recommend enjoyment — a person can do nothing better under the sun than eat, drink and enjoy himself; this is what should accompany him as he does his work for as long as God gives him to live under the sun.
16 When I applied myself to gain wisdom and to observe how people occupy themselves on earth, that people’s eyes don’t see sleep either by day or by night, 17 then, on looking over all of God’s work, I realized that it is impossible to grasp all the activity taking place under the sun; because even if a person works hard at searching it out, he won’t grasp it; and even if a wise person thinks he knows it, he still won’t be able to grasp it.
Ecclesiastes 8
Lexham English Bible
Wisdom is Valuable
8 Who is like the sage?
Who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 Keep the command of the king[a]
because of your oath to God.[b]
3 Do not be terrified of his presence!
Go at once and do not delay when a matter is unpleasant,
for he can do anything that he desires.
4 Since the word of the king is supreme,
no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his command will not suffer disaster.
The wise mind knows the proper time and the right procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and right procedure for every matter,
even though the trouble of man weighs heavy upon him.
No One Knows the Future
7 Surely no one knows what will be,
so who can tell anyone what will happen?
8 Just as no one can control the wind to restrain the wind,
so also no one can control the day of his death.
Just as no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not deliver the wicked.
The World Marred by Oppression and Injustice
9 I saw all this as I applied my heart to all the deeds done under the sun: sometimes those in authority harm others.[c] 10 Meanwhile, I saw the wicked being honorably buried, but those who came and went from the holy place were forgotten in the city, even though they had done so. This also is vanity!
Although Evil is Not Punished Swiftly, God Does Eventually Punish Sinners
11 Because sentence against an evil deed is not carried out quickly, the heart of humans[d] fills up within them to do evil. 12 Although the sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will be good for those who fear God—because they fear his presence.[e] 13 But it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not prolong their days, like the shadow; because there is no fearing God’s presence.[f] 14 There is a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is vanity!”
Humans Should Enjoy the Life That God Gives to Them
15 So I recommend enjoyment. For there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.
No One Can Discover the Rhyme and Reason for Things
16 I applied my mind to know wisdom and to understand the business that is done on earth—how neither day nor night one’s eyes see sleep. 17 Then I saw all the work of God—man is not able to discover the work that is done under the sun. Although man may toil in seeking, he cannot find it. Even if a wise man claims that he knows it, he cannot find it.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 While MT reads “I said, ‘Keep the mouth of the king,’” the versions read “Keep the mouth of the king,” which is adopted in the translation
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 Literally “because of the oath of God”
- Ecclesiastes 8:9 Literally “sometimes one man domineers another man to his harm”
- Ecclesiastes 8:11 Literally “the sons of the man”
- Ecclesiastes 8:12 Literally “from before his face”
- Ecclesiastes 8:13 Literally “from before the face of God”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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