Ecclesiastes 8:1-14

¹Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face is changed.

²I counsel thee: keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God.

³Be not hasty to go out of his presence; stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

⁴Forasmuch as the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him: 'What doest thou?'

⁵Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment.

⁶For to every matter there is a time and judgment; for the evil of man is great upon him.

⁷For he knoweth not that which shall be; for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him?

⁸There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.

⁹All this have I seen, even applied my heart thereto, whatever the work that is done under the sun; what time one man had power over another to his hurt.

¹⁰And so I saw the wicked buried, and they entered into their rest; but they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city; this also is vanity.

¹¹Because 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;

¹²because a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and prolongeth his days — though yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before Him;

¹³but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous — I said that this also is vanity.