Ecclesiastes 8
New King James Version

Obey Authorities for God’s Sake

8 Whoislike a wiseman?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
^(A)A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And^(B)the^[a]sternness of his face is changed.

Obey Authorities for God’s Sake

²Isay,“Keep the king’s commandment^(C)for the sake of your oath to God.³^(D)Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”

⁴Where the word of a kingis, there ispower;
And^(E)who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
⁵He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
And a wise man’s heart^[b]discerns both time and judgment,
⁶Because^(F)for every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man^[c]increases greatly.
⁷^(G)For he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
⁸^(H)No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is^(I)no release from that war,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

⁹All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun:There isa time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

Death Comes to All

¹⁰Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were^(J)forgotten^[d]in the city where they had so done. This alsoisvanity.¹¹^(K)Because 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^(L)Though a sinner does evil a hundredtimes,and hisdaysare prolonged, yet I surely know that^(M)it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.¹³But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolonghisdays,which areas a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

¹⁴There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are justmento whom it^(N)happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wickedmento whom it happens according to the work of the^(O)righteous. I said that this alsoisvanity.

¹⁵^(P)So 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 laborallthe days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

¹⁶When 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,¹⁷then I saw all the work of God, that^(Q)a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discoverit,yet he will not findit;moreover, though a wisemanattempts to knowit,he will not be able to findit.