Ecclesiastes 8:2-6
New English Translation
2 Obey the king’s command,[a]
because you took[b] an oath before God[c] to be loyal to him.[d]
3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste—do not delay when the matter is unpleasant,[e]
for he can do whatever he pleases.
4 Surely the king’s authority[f] is absolute;[g]
no one can say[h] to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his[i] command will not experience harm,
and a wise person[j] knows the proper time[k] and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
for the oppression[l] of the king[m] is severe upon his victim.[n]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 tc The Leningrad Codex (the basis of BHS) reads אֲנִי (ʾani, first person common singular independent personal pronoun): “I obey the king’s command.” Other medieval Hebrew mss and all the versions (LXX, Vulgate, Targum, Syriac Peshitta) preserve an alternate textual tradition of the definite accusative marker אֶת (ʾet) introducing the direct object: אֶת־פִּי־מֶלֶךְ שְׁמוֹר (ʾet pi melekh shemor, “Obey the command of the king”). External evidence supports the alternate textual tradition. The MT is guilty of simple orthographic confusion between similar looking letters. The BHS editors and the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project adopt אֶת as the original reading. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:582-83.
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 tn The phrase “you took” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 tn The genitive-construct שְׁבוּעַת אֱלֹהִים (shevuʿat ʾelohim, “an oath of God”) functions as a genitive of location (“an oath before God”) or an adjectival genitive of attribute (“a supreme oath”).
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 tn The words “to be loyal to him” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Ecclesiastes 8:3 tn Or “do not stand up for a bad cause.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:4 tn Heb “word.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:4 tn Heb “supreme.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:4 tn Heb “Who can say…?”
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 tn Heb “the heart of a wise man.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 tn The term עֵת (ʿet, “time”) connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event; the right moment” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b); e.g., “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27).
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 tn Heb “evil”; or “misery.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 tn Heb “the man.”
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 tn Heb “upon him.”
Ecclesiastes 8:2-6
New American Standard Bible
2 I say, “Keep the [a]command of the king because of the (A)oath [b]before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry [c](B)to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” 4 Since the word of the king is authoritative, (C)who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 One who (D)keeps a royal command (E)experiences no [d]trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. 6 For (F)there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a person’s trouble is heavy upon him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 Lit mouth
- Ecclesiastes 8:2 Lit of
- Ecclesiastes 8:3 Lit to go out from his presence
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 Lit evil thing
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