Ecclesiastes 8

1 Who knows the wise person, and who knows how to interpret a saying? A person’s wisdom brightens his face, but the one with a shameless face will be hated. 2 Keep the king’s command, and do not be hasty about the word of an oath to God. 3 You will go from his presence. Do not stand in an evil matter, because he will do whatever he pleases. 4 A king speaks with authority. Who will say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps the command will experience no evil thing, and the wise heart knows the time of judgment. 6 For every matter has a time and a judgment, because a person’s knowledge weighs heavily on him. 7 No one knows what will happen, for who can tell him how it will happen? 8 No one has authority over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and no one has authority over the day of death. There is no discharge in battle, and ungodliness will not rescue the one who practices it.

9 I saw all this as I applied my heart to every work done under the sun, during the time when one person has power over another to harm him. 10 Then I saw ungodly people carried to their graves. They left the holy place and were praised in the city because they had acted this way. This too is futile. 11 Because those who do evil do not quickly meet resistance, the human heart becomes fully determined to do evil. 12 A sinner has done evil since then, and it has continued a long time for him. Even so, I know it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the ungodly, and he will not prolong his shadow-like days, because he does not fear before God.

14 There is a futility that occurs on earth: righteous people receive what the deeds of the ungodly deserve, and ungodly people receive what the deeds of the righteous deserve. I said that this too is futile. 15 So I praised pleasure, because there is nothing good for a person under the sun except to eat, drink, and rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil during the days of life God gives him under the sun.

16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the distraction occurring on earth—for some people’s eyes see no sleep by day or night— 17 I saw all God’s works and realized that a person cannot discover the work done under the sun. However much someone toils to seek it, he will not find it; even if a wise person claims to know, he will not be able to discover it.