Ecclesiastes 8

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Sapientia hominis lucet in vultu ejus, et potentissimus faciem illius commutabit.	1 Who compares with the sage? Who else knows how to explain things? Wisdom lights up the face,enlivening a grim expression.
2 Ego os regis observo, et præcepta juramenti Dei.	2 Obey the king's command and, because of the divine promise,
3 Ne festines recedere a facie ejus, neque permaneas in opere malo : quia omne quod voluerit faciet.	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.
4 Et sermo illius potestate plenus est, nec dicere ei quisquam potest : Quare ita facis ?	4 Since the word of a king is sovereign, what is the point of saying, 'Why do that?'
5 Qui custodit præceptum non experietur quidquam mali. Tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intelligit.	5 One who obeys the command will come to no harm; the heart of the sage knows the right moment andverdict,
6 Omni negotio tempus est, et opportunitas : et multa hominis afflictio,	6 for there is a right moment and verdict for everything; but misfortune lies heavy upon anyone
7 quia ignorat præterita, et futura nullo scire potest nuntio.	7 who does not know what the outcome wil be, no one is going to say how things wil turn out.
8 Non est in hominis potestate prohibere spiritum, nec habet potestatem in die mortis : nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello, neque salvabit impietas impium.	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.
9 Omnia hæc consideravi, et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus quæ fiunt sub sole. Interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum.	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.
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 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!
11 Etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala.	11 Because the sentence on the evil-doer is not carried out on the instant, people's hearts are ful ofdesire to do wrong.
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 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,
13 Non sit bonum impio, nec prolongentur dies ejus, sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Domini.	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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Having applied myself to acquiring wisdom and to observing the activity taking place in the world -- forday and night our eyes enjoy no rest-
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 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.