Ecc 8 | HCSB | STEP | Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter ? A man’s wisdom brightens his face , and the sternness of his face is changed .

‏ Ecclesiastes 8

Wisdom, Authorities, and Inequities

1 Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed. ^a

2 Keep ^{▼▼Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg, Tg, Syr; other Hb mss read I, keep} the king’s command because of your oath made before God. ^c 3 Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, ^d and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants. 4 For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” ^e 5 The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, ^f and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. 6 For every activity there is a right time and procedure, ^g even though man’s troubles are heavy on him. 7 Yet no one knows what will happen ^h because who can tell him what will happen? 8 No one has authority over the wind ^{▼▼Or life-breath} to restrain it, ^j and there is no authority over the day of death; ^k there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. 9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one man has authority over another to his harm.

10 In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, ^l and they were praised ^{▼▼Some Hb mss, LXX, Aq, Theod, Sym; other Hb mss read forgotten} in the city where they did so. This too is futile. 11 Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, ⁿ the heart of ^{▼▼people: Literally sons of man or sons of Adam}people is filled with the desire to commit crime. 12 Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, ^p yet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, ^q for they are reverent before Him. 13 However, it will not go well with the wicked, ^r and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, ^s for they are not reverent before God.

14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, ^t and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. ^u I say that this too is futile. 15 So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, ^v for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom ^w and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), 17 I observed all the work of God and concluded that man is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a man labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; ^x even if the wise man claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.