The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Ecclesiastes 08
1 Who is like the wise man? 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 the oath to God.
3 Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence.
Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does
whatever pleases him,
4 for the king’s word is supreme. Who
can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever keeps the commandment
shall not come to harm, and his wise heart
will know the time and procedure.
6 For there is a time and procedure for
every purpose, although the misery of
man is heavy on him.
7 For he doesn’t know that which will be;
for who can tell him how it will be?
8 There is no man who has power over
the spirit to contain the spirit; neither
does he have power over the day of death.
There is no discharge in war; neither shall
wickedness deliver those who practice it.
9 All this I have seen, and applied my
mind to every work that is done under the
sun. There is a time in which one man has
power over another to his hurt.
10 So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed
they came also from holiness. They went
and were forgotten in the city where they
did this. This also is vanity.
11 Because 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 Though a sinner commits crimes a
hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I
know that it will be better with those who
fear God, who are reverent before him.
13 But it shall not be well with the
wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like
a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
14 There is a vanity which is done on
the earth, that there are righteous men to
whom it happens according to the work of
the wicked. Again,there are wickedmento
whom it happens according to the work of
the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a
man has no better thing under the sun
than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for
that will accompanyhiminhis labor allthe
days of his life which God has given him
under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done
onthe earth (eventhough eyes seeno sleep
day or night),
17 then I saw all the work of God, that
man can’t find out the work that is done
under the sun, because however much a
man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find
it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he
can comprehend it, he won’t be able tofind
it.