Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 8:2-12"

Ecclesiastes 8:2-12

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

2 I [advise] you to obey the king's commands because of the oath you took in God's presence.

3 Don't be in a hurry to leave the king's service. Don't take part in something evil, because he can do whatever he pleases.

4 Since a king's word has such power, no one can ask him what he is doing.

5 Whoever obeys his commands will avoid trouble. The mind of a wise person will know the right time and the right way [to act].

6 There is a right time and a right way [to act] in every situation. Yet, a terrible human tragedy hangs over people.

7 They don't know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out?

8 No one has the power to prevent the spirit of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war [against death]. Wickedness will not save wicked people [from dying].

9 I have seen all of this, and I have carefully considered all that is done under the sun whenever one person has authority to hurt others.

10 Then I saw wicked people given an [honorable] burial. They used to go in and out of the holy place. They were praised in the city for doing such things. Even this is pointless.

11 When a sentence against a crime isn't carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes.

12 A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him.

New International Version NIV

2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.

3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

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

5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.

7 Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come?

8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.

10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.

12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.