Ecclesiastes 8:1–12:14
8 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
aA man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And bthe 1sternness of his face is changed.
Obey Authorities for God’s Sake
2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment cfor the sake of your oath to God. 3 dDo 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 ewho may say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
And a wise man’s heart 2discerns both time and judgment,
6 Because ffor every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man 3increases greatly.
7 gFor he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
8 hNo one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is ino 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.
10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were jforgotten 4in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 kBecause 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 lThough a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that mit 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 nhappens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the orighteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 pSo 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 qa 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.
9 For I 1considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: athat the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 bAll things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the 2good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die;
But cthe dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For dthe memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.
7 Go, eeat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
8 Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.
9 3Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; ffor that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
10 gWhatever your hand finds to do, do it with your hmight; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
11 I returned iand saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and jchance happen to them all.
12 For kman also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are lsnared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 mThere was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great 4snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
“Wisdom is better than nstrength.
Nevertheless othe poor man’s wisdom is despised,
And his words are not heard.
17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war;
But pone sinner destroys much good.”
10 Dead 1flies 2putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,
But a fool’s heart at his left.
3 Even when a fool walks along the way,
He lacks wisdom,
aAnd he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
bDo not leave your post;
For cconciliation 3pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 dFolly is set in 4great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen servants eon horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.
8 fHe who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom 5brings success.
11 A serpent may bite gwhen it is not charmed;
The 6babbler is no different.
12 hThe words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But ithe lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
14 jA fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him kwhat will be after him?
15 The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!
16 lWoe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your mprinces feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
18 Because of laziness the 7building decays,
And nthrough idleness of hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
And owine makes merry;
But money answers everything.
20 pDo not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.
11 Cast your bread aupon the waters,
bFor you will find it after many days.
2 cGive a serving dto seven, and also to eight,
eFor you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As fyou do not know what is the way of the 1wind,
gOr how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
And it is pleasant for the eyes hto behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And irejoices in them all,
Yet let him jremember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
kWalk in the 2ways of your heart,
And 3in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
lGod will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove 4sorrow from your heart,
And mput away evil from your flesh,
nFor childhood and 5youth are vanity.
12 Remember anow your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the 1difficult days come,
And the years draw near bwhen you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all cthe daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to dhis eternal home,
And ethe mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is 2loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 fThen the dust will return to the earth as it was,
gAnd the spirit will return to God hwho gave it.
8 “Vanity iof vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and jset 3in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find 4acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of