Ecclesiastes 8  Legacy Standard Bible

Keep the Command of the King

8 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom ^(A)illumines his face and causes his ^(B)stern face to ^[a]beam.

² I say, “Keep the ^[b]command of the king because of the ^(C)sworn oath ^[c]before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry ^(D)to go from his presence. Do not stand in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” ⁴ Since the word of the king is powerful, ^(E)who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ He who ^(F)keeps a royal command ^(G)experiences no evil thing, for a wise heart knows the proper time and custom. ⁶ For ^(H)there is a proper time and custom for every ^[d]matter, though a man’s trouble is multiplied upon him. ⁷ If no one ^(I)knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? ^8 (J)There is no man who has power to restrain the wind with the wind, and there is none who has power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and ^(K)wickedness will not provide escape to its masters. ⁹ All this I have seen and given my heart to every work that has been done under the sun wherein a man has ^(L)power over another man to his calamity.

¹⁰ So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are ^(M)soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is vanity. ¹¹ Because the ^(N)sentence against an evil work is not executed quickly, therefore ^(O)the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. ¹² Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may ^(P)prolong his life, still I know that it will be ^(Q)well for those who fear God, who fear ^[e]Him openly. ¹³ But it will ^(R)not be well for the wicked man, and he will not prolong his days like a ^(S)shadow, because he does not fear ^[f]God openly.

¹⁴ There is vanity which is done on the earth, that is, there are ^(T)righteous men to whom it ^[g]happens according to the works of the wicked. On the other hand, there are ^(U)wicked men to whom it ^[h]happens according to the works of the righteous. I say that this too is vanity. ¹⁵ So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for ^(V)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to ^[i]be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I ^(W)gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the endeavor which has been done on the earth (even though one ^(X)never sees sleep with his eyes day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that ^(Y)man cannot find out the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not find it out; and ^(Z)though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot find it out.