Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 8

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Who compares with the sage? Who else knows how to explain things? Wisdom lights up the face,enlivening a grim expression.	1 The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance, and even the expression of a most powerful man will change.
2 Obey the king's command and, because of the divine promise,	2 I heed the mouth of the king, and the commandment of an oath to God.
3 be in no hurry to depart from it; do not be obstinate in a bad cause, since the king wil do as he likes inany case.	3 You should not hastily withdraw from his presence, nor should you remain in an evil work. For all that pleases him, he will do.
4 Since the word of a king is sovereign, what is the point of saying, 'Why do that?'	4 And his word is filled with authority. Neither is anyone able to say to him: “Why are you acting this way?”
5 One who obeys the command will come to no harm; the heart of the sage knows the right moment andverdict,	5 Whoever keeps the commandment will not experience evil. The heart of a wise man understands the time to respond.
6 for there is a right moment and verdict for everything; but misfortune lies heavy upon anyone	6 For every matter, there is a time and an opportunity, as well as many difficulties, for man.
7 who does not know what the outcome wil be, no one is going to say how things wil turn out.	7 For he is ignorant of the past, and he is able to know nothing of the future by means of a messenger.
8 No one can control the wind and stop it from blowing, no one can control the day of death. From warthere is no escape, no more can wickedness save the person who commits it.	8 It is not in the power of a man to prohibit the spirit, nor does he have authority over the day of death, nor is he permitted to rest when war breaks out, and neither will impiety save the impious.
9 I have seen al this to be so, having careful y studied everything taking place under the sun, while oneperson tyrannises over another to the former's detriment.	9 I have considered all these things, and I have applied my heart to all the works which are being done under the sun. Sometimes one man rules over another to his own harm.
10 And again, I have observed the wicked carried to their graves, and people leaving the holy place and,once out in the city, forgetting how the wicked used to behave; how futile this is too!	10 I have seen the impious buried. These same, while they were still living, were in the holy place, and they were praised in the city as workers of justice. But this, too, is emptiness.
11 Because the sentence on the evil-doer is not carried out on the instant, people's hearts are ful ofdesire to do wrong.	11 For the sons of men perpetrate evils without any fear, because judgment is not pronounced quickly against the evil.
12 The sinner who does wrong a hundred times lives on. But this too I know, that there is good in store forpeople who fear God, because they fear him,	12 But although a sinner may do evil of himself one hundred times, and by patience still endure, I realize that it will be well with those who fear God, who revere his face.
13 but there is no good in store for the wicked because he does not fear God, and so, like a shadow, hewil not prolong his days.	13 So, may it not go well with the impious, and may his days not be prolonged. And let those who do not fear the face of the Lord pass away like a shadow.
14 Another futile thing that happens on earth: upright people being treated as though they were wickedand wicked people being treated as though they were upright. To me this is one more example of futility.	14 There is also another vanity, which is done upon the earth. There are the just, to whom evils happen, as though they had done the works of the impious. And there are the impious, who are very secure, as though they possess the deeds of the just. But this, too, I judge to be a very great vanity.
15 And therefore I praise joy, since human happiness lies only in eating and drinking and in takingpleasure; this comes from what someone achieves during the days of life that God gives under the sun.	15 And so, I praised rejoicing, because there was no good for a man under the sun, except to eat and drink, and to be cheerful, and because he may take nothing with him from his labor in the days of his life, which God has given to him under the sun.
16 Having applied myself to acquiring wisdom and to observing the activity taking place in the world -- forday and night our eyes enjoy no rest-	16 And I applied my heart, so that I might know wisdom, and so that I might understand a disturbance that turns upon the earth: it is a man, who takes no sleep with his eyes, day and night.
17 I have scrutinised God's whole creation: you cannot get to the bottom of everything taking place underthe sun; you may wear yourself out in the search, but you wil never find it. Not even a sage can get to thebottom of it, even if he says that he has done so.	17 And I understood that man is able to find no explanation for all those works of God which are done under the sun. And so, the more that he labors to seek, so much the less does he find. Yes, even if a wise man were to claim that he knows, he would not be able to discover it.