Ecclesiastes 8

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Sapientia hominis lucet in vultu ejus, et potentissimus faciem illius commutabit.	1 Who is like the wise man, and who knows the explanation of things? A man's wisdom illumines his face, but an impudent look is resented.
2 Ego os regis observo, et præcepta juramenti Dei.	2 Observe the precept of the king, and in view of your oath to God,
3 Ne festines recedere a facie ejus, neque permaneas in opere malo : quia omne quod voluerit faciet.	3 be not hasty to withdraw from the king; do not join in with a base plot, for he does whatever he pleases,
4 Et sermo illius potestate plenus est, nec dicere ei quisquam potest : Quare ita facis ?	4 because his word is sovereign, and who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
5 Qui custodit præceptum non experietur quidquam mali. Tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intelligit.	5 "He who keeps the commandment experiences no evil, and the wise man's heart knows times and judgments;
6 Omni negotio tempus est, et opportunitas : et multa hominis afflictio,	6 for there is a time and a judgment for everything."--Yet it is a great affliction for man
7 quia ignorat præterita, et futura nullo scire potest nuntio.	7 that he is ignorant of what is to come; for who will make known to him how it will be?
8 Non est in hominis potestate prohibere spiritum, nec habet potestatem in die mortis : nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello, neque salvabit impietas impium.	8 There is no man who is master of the breath of life so as to retain it, and none has mastery of the day of death. There is no exemption from the struggle, nor are the wicked saved by their wickedness.
9 Omnia hæc consideravi, et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus quæ fiunt sub sole. Interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum.	9 All these things I considered and I applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun, while one man tyrannizes over another to his hurt.
10 Vidi impios sepultos, qui etiam cum adhuc viverent in loco sancto erant, et laudabantur in civitate quasi justorum operum. Sed et hoc vanitas est.	10 Meanwhile I saw wicked men approach and enter; and as they left the sacred place, they were praised in the city for what they had done. This also is vanity.
11 Etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala.	11 Because the sentence against evildoers is not promptly executed, therefore the hearts of men are filled with the desire to commit evil--
12 Attamen peccator ex eo quod centies facit malum, et per patientiam sustentatur ; ego cognovi quod erit bonum timentibus Deum, qui verentur faciem ejus.	12 because the sinner does evil a hundred times and survives. Though indeed I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, for their reverence toward him;
13 Non sit bonum impio, nec prolongentur dies ejus, sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Domini.	13 and that it shall not be well with the wicked man, and he shall not prolong his shadowy days, for his lack of reverence toward God.
14 Est et alia vanitas quæ fit super terram : sunt justi quibus mala proveniunt quasi opera egerint impiorum : et sunt impii qui ita securi sunt quasi justorum facta habeant. Sed et hoc vanissimum judico.	14 This is a vanity which occurs on earth: there are just men treated as though they had done evil and wicked men treated as though they had done justly. This, too, I say is vanity.
15 Laudavi igitur lætitiam ; quod non esset homini bonum sub sole, nisi quod comederet, et biberet, atque gauderet, et hoc solum secum auferret de labore suo, in diebus vitæ suæ quos dedit ei Deus sub sole.	15 Therefore I commend mirth, because there is nothing good for man under the sun except eating and drinking and mirth: for this is the accompaniment of his toil during the limited days of the life which God gives him under the sun.
16 Et apposui cor meum ut scirem sapientiam, et intelligerem distentionem quæ versatur in terra. Est homo qui diebus et noctibus somnum non capit oculis.	16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe what is done on earth,
17 Et intellexi quod omnium operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quæ fiunt sub sole ; et quanto plus laboraverit ad quærendum, tanto minus inveniat : etiam si dixerit sapiens se nosse, non poterit reperire.	17 I recognized that man is unable to find out all God's work that is done under the sun, even though neither by day nor by night do his eyes find rest in sleep. However much man toils in searching, he does not find it out; and even if the wise man says that he knows, he is unable to find it out.