Ecclesiastes 8:1–9

Obey Rulers

¹Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom ^aillumines ¹him and causes his ^bstern face to ²beam.

²I say, “Keep the ¹command of the king because of the ^aoath ²before God.

³“Do not be in a hurry ^1ato leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.”

⁴Since the word of the king is authoritative, ^awho will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵He who ^akeeps a royal command ^bexperiences no ¹trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure.

⁶For ^athere is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him.

⁷If no one ^aknows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?

^8aNo man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and ^bevil will not deliver ¹those who practice it.

⁹All this I have seen and applied my ¹mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised ^aauthority over another man to his hurt.