1 Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

2 Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God {Elohim}.

3 Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

4 For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.

7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?

8 As no man has power over the wind {ruach} to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-8, Berean Annotated Bible. Public domain.
Ecclesiastes 7
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