Ecclesiastes 8:1–8

1 Who is like the wise?

Who knows the explanation of things?

A person’s wisdom brightens their face

and changes its hard appearance.

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. 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?”

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,

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 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.

1 Who is like the wise?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,

and the hardness of his face is changed.

2 I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. 3 Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. 7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it.

1 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.

1 How wonderful to be wise,

to analyze and interpret things.

Wisdom lights up a person’s face,

softening its harshness.

2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3 Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

1 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,

And the sternness of his face is changed.

2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. 3 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 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 discerns both time and judgment,

6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment,

Though the misery of man increases greatly.

7 For he does not know what will happen;

So who can tell him when it will occur?

8 No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,

And no one has power in the day of death.

There is no release from that war,

And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

1 No one is like the wise person

who can understand what things mean.

Wisdom brings happiness;

it makes sad faces happy.

2 Obey the king’s command, because you made a promise to God. 3 Don’t be too quick to leave the king. Don’t support something that is wrong, because the king does whatever he pleases. 4 What the king says is law; no one tells him what to do.

5 Whoever obeys the king’s command will be safe.

A wise person does the right thing at the right time.

6 There is a right time and a right way for everything,

yet people often have many troubles.

7 They do not know what the future holds,

and no one can tell them what will happen.

8 No one can control the wind

or stop his own death.

No soldier is released in times of war,

and evil does not set free those who do evil.

1 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 hardness of his face is changed. 2 I counsel thee, Keep the king’s command, and that in regard of the oath of God. 3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4 For the king’s word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? 5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man’s heart discerneth time and judgment: 6 for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great upon him: 7 for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be? 8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.

1 Who is as the wise? and who knoweth the explanation of things? A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face is changed. 2 I say, Keep the king’s commandment, and that on account of the oath of God. 3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatever pleaseth him, 4 because the word of a king is power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? 5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man’s heart knoweth time and manner.

6 For to every purpose there is time and manner. For the misery of man is great upon him; 7 for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be? 8 There is no man who hath control over the spirit to retain the spirit; and no one hath control over the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war, neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

1 Who is really wise? Who knows how to explain things? Wisdom makes one’s face shine, and it changes one’s grim look. 

2 I ⸤advise⸥ you to obey the king’s commands because of the oath you took in God’s presence. 3 Don’t be in a hurry to leave the king’s service. Don’t take part in something evil, because he can do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word has such power, no one can ask him what he is doing. 5 Whoever obeys his commands will avoid trouble. The mind of a wise person will know the right time and the right way ⸤to act⸥. 6 There is a right time and a right way ⸤to act⸥ in every situation. Yet, a terrible human tragedy hangs over people. 

7 They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out? 8 No one has the power to prevent the spiritof life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war ⸤against death⸥. Wickedness will not save wicked people ⸤from dying⸥. 

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.

2 Keep the king’s command because of your oath made before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, 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?” 5 The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. 6 For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though man’s troubles are heavy on him. 7 Yet no one knows what will happen because who can tell him what will happen? 8 No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.

1 Who is like the wise man?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

Being wise makes one’s face shine,

but arrogance changes one’s face.

2 Keep the king’s command, and because of your sacred oath 3 do not be terrified; go from his presence; do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is powerful, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever obeys a command will meet no harm, and the wise mind will know the time and way. 6 For every matter has its time and way, although the troubles of mortals lie heavy upon them. 7 Indeed, they do not know what is to be, for who can tell them how it will be? 8 No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind or power over the day of death; there is no discharge from the battle, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it.

1 Who is like the sage?

Who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,

and the hardness of his face is changed.

2 Keep the command of the king

because of your oath to God.

3 Do not be terrified of his presence!

Go at once and do not delay when a matter is unpleasant,

for he can do anything that he desires.

4 Since the word of the king is supreme,

no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”

5 Whoever obeys his command will not suffer disaster.

The wise mind knows the proper time and the right procedure.

6 For there is a proper time and right procedure for every matter,

even though the trouble of man weighs heavy upon him.

7 Surely no one knows what will be,

so who can tell anyone what will happen?

8 Just as no one can control the wind to restrain the wind,

so also no one can control the day of his death.

Just as no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not deliver the wicked.

1 Who is like a wise man?

Who knows how to explain things?

Wisdom makes a man’s face bright.

It softens the look on his face.

2 I’m telling you to obey the king’s command. You took an oath to serve him. You made a promise to God. 3 Don’t be in a hurry to quit your job in the palace. Don’t stand up for something the king doesn’t like. He’ll do anything he wants to. 4 He has the final word. So who can ask him, “What are you doing?”

5 No one who obeys his command will be harmed.

Those who are wise will know the proper time and way to approach him.

6 There’s a proper time and way for people to do everything.

That’s true even though a man might be suffering greatly.

7 No one knows what lies ahead.

So who can tell a person what’s going to happen?

8 He can’t stop the wind from blowing.

And he doesn’t have the power to decide when he will die.

No one is let out of the army in times of war.

And evil won’t let go of those who practice it.