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Ecclesiastes 8
King James Version
Ecclesiastes 8
King James Version
8 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
11 Because 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.
12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Ecclesiastes 8
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 8
New International Version
8 Who is like the wise?
Who knows the explanation of things?
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
and changes its hard appearance.
Obey the King
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 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. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?(B)”
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,(C)
though a person may be weighed down by misery.
7 Since no one knows the future,
who can tell someone else what is to come?
8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
so[a] no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own[b] hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried(D)—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise[c] in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better(E) with those who fear God,(F) who are reverent before him.(G) 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God,(H) it will not go well with them, and their days(I) will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve.(J) This too, I say, is meaningless.(K) 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life(L), because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink(M) and be glad.(N) Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom(O) and to observe the labor that is done on earth(P)—people getting no sleep day or night— 17 then I saw all that God has done.(Q) No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.(R)
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and so
- Ecclesiastes 8:9 Or to their
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (Aquila); most Hebrew manuscripts and are forgotten
Ecclesiastes 8
EasyEnglish Bible
Ecclesiastes 8
EasyEnglish Bible
8 This is what I know about people who are truly wise.
They know how to explain things.
Wisdom helps a person to be happy.
It causes them to smile even when they have trouble.
Obey the king
2 You promised God that you would serve the king faithfully.
So obey the king's commands.
3 If you are with the king,
do not leave in a hurry.
Do not join with people who plan turn against him.
Remember that the king can do anything that he wants to do.
4 The king's command has complete power.
Nobody can tell him that he is wrong.
5 Trouble will not come to anyone who obeys the king's command.
A wise person knows the right time to do things.
He also knows the right way to do them.
6 There is a right time for things to happen.
There is a right way to do things.
But trouble comes to people anyway.
7 Nobody knows what will happen in the future.
Nobody can tell us about it.
8 Nobody has the power to control the wind.
Also, nobody has the power to decide the day of their death.
Soldiers are not allowed to leave a battle.
Also, if people do wicked things,
that will not rescue them.
Things happen that are not fair
9 I saw all these things that happen on the earth. I thought about them a lot. I thought about the things that happen on the earth. I saw that people sometimes use their power to hurt other people.
10 I also saw that some wicked people receive honour after their death. Those wicked people had gone in and out of the holy place. People praised them in the city where they had done evil things. This also is difficult to understand.
11 People who are guilty should receive their punishment quickly. If that does not happen, other people also want to do evil things. 12 People who do lots of wicked things may live for a long time. But if someone respects and obeys God, they will surely enjoy a good life. 13 Wicked people will surely not enjoy a good life. Their lives will be like a shadow that quickly disappears. They do not respect God, so they will not live for a long time.
14 But this is something else that is difficult to understand: Sometimes righteous people suffer in the way the wicked people deserve. And sometimes wicked people enjoy the good things that righteous people deserve. I think that this is difficult to understand.
Enjoy life
15 So I think that we should enjoy our lives. People should be happy to eat, drink and enjoy their lives. That is the best thing for them to do. It will help them to enjoy the work that they do during their lives. That is the life which God has given them on the earth.
16 I tried very much to become wise. I wanted to understand the things that people do on the earth. People work in the day and in the night and they do not sleep. 17 I thought about everything that God has done. I realized that nobody understands everything that happens on the earth. Even if they try very much, they will not know everything. A wise person may say that he understands all these things. But really that is not possible.
傳道書 8
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
傳道書 8
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
8 誰像有智慧的人呢？
誰知道事情的原委呢？
智慧能使人容光煥發，
使冷酷的面孔柔和。
2 我勸你遵守王的命令，因為你曾在上帝面前這樣發誓。 3 不要在王面前魯莽行事，也不要參與惡行，因為王可以隨意行事。 4 況且，王的命令至高無上，誰敢質問他呢？ 5 遵從王命的必免遭禍患，因為智者心裡懂得做事的時機和方法。 6 儘管人面臨重重困難，但做任何事都有時機和方法。 7 無人知道未來的事，誰能告訴人將來的事呢？ 8 無人能掌管生命[a]，留住生命，也無人能掌管死期。無人能免於這場爭戰，邪惡也救不了作惡者。 9 這一切我都見過了，我用心思考日光之下的一切事。有時人欺壓人、傷害人。 10 我看見惡人生前出入聖所，死後安葬，還在他們作惡的城中受到稱讚，這也是虛空。 11 對犯罪者的刑罰不迅速執行，世人便盡情作惡。 12 雖然罪人作惡多端仍得長壽，我卻認為敬畏上帝的人必亨通。 13 然而，惡人得不到祝福，他們必像幻影一樣不能長久，因為他們不敬畏上帝。 14 世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人遭受了惡人當受的報應，惡人卻享受了義人該享的福樂。我認為這也是虛空。 15 因此，我便讚賞享樂，因為在日光之下沒有什麼比吃喝快樂更好。這是人在上帝所賜的年日裡，從勞碌中當得的享受。 16 我全心去尋求智慧，觀察世上所發生的事，甚至晝夜不眠， 17 思想上帝所做的一切，便知道人無法理解日光之下所發生的事。儘管人努力不懈地去尋找，也不能明白；即使智者自以為明白，他其實仍不能參透。
Footnotes
- 8·8 「生命」也可譯作「風」或「氣息」。
Ecclesiastes 8
New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 8
New King James Version
Obey Authorities for God’s Sake
8 Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
(A)A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And (B)the [a]sternness of his face is changed.
Obey Authorities for God’s Sake
2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment (C)for the sake of your oath to God. 3 (D)Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;
And (E)who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
And a wise man’s heart [b]discerns both time and judgment,
6 Because (F)for every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man [c]increases greatly.
7 (G)For he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
8 (H)No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is (I)no release from that war,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.
9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.
Death Comes to All
10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were (J)forgotten[d] in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 (K)Because the 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. 12 (L)Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that (M)it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it (N)happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the (O)righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 (P)So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that (Q)a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:1 Lit. strength
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 Lit. knows
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 is great upon him
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. praised
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.