Ecclesiastes Chapter 8
Who’s as sharp as a king? A dude’s smarts light him up, and his confidence? Total glow-up.
Who {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 shall be changed. {the boldness: Heb. the strength}
So, stick to the king’s rules, no cap, and keep your promise to God.
I {counsel thee} to keep the king's commandment, and {that} in regard of the oath of God.
Don’t bounce too quick from his presence; don’t get caught up in bad vibes, 'cause he does his thing regardless.
Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
Where a king speaks, there’s major power; who’s bold enough to challenge him?
Where the word of a king {is, there is} power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
If you roll with the rules, you’ll dodge the bad stuff; a wise heart knows when to chill and when to make moves.
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. {shall...: Heb. shall know}
Every plan has its moment and judgment, so yeah, life can hit hard sometimes.
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man {is} great upon him.
He doesn’t even know what’s coming next; who can see the future, fr?
For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? {when...: or, how it shall be?}
No one can clutch the spirit or keep death at bay; in that struggle, no one gets a break, and wickedness ain’t saving anyone.
{There is} no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither {hath he} power in the day of death: and {there is} no discharge in {that} war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. {discharge: or, casting off weapons}
I’ve witnessed it all and scoped out every hustle under the sun: sometimes one dude rules over another, and it backfires hard.
All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: {there is} a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
I saw the wicked get buried; they popped in and out of the holy spot, but now they’re forgotten in the city. Total vanity.
And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this {is} also vanity.
Since consequences for bad acts don’t hit quickly, folks get cozy doing evil, no cap.
Because 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.
Even if a sinner messes up a hundred times and lives long, I know it’s gonna be solid for those who fear God, periodt.
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his {days} be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
But it won’t be all good for the wicked; their days are just shadows 'cause they don’t fear God.
But 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.
There’s some sus stuff going on in the world; good people catch the same heat as the wicked, while bad folks are treated like the righteous. Total vanity.
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just {men}, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked {men}, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also {is} vanity.
I said, “Let’s vibe!” 'Cause there’s nothing better than eating, drinking, and enjoying life; that’s the real deal from your grind.
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
When I focused on wisdom and peeped what went down on earth: (no one catches sleep day or night, fr).
When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also {there is that} neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
I checked out all God’s work, and a dude can’t nail down what’s happening under the sun; even if he hustles to find it, he won’t. Wise guys think they’ve got it, but they can’t crack the code either.
Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek {it} out, yet he shall not find {it}; yea further; though a wise {man} think to know {it}, yet shall he not be able to find {it}.