Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 8"

Ecclesiastes 8

The Message Bible MSG

1 here's nothing better than being wise, Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life. Wisdom puts light in the eyes, And gives gentleness to words and manners.

2 Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience.

3 Don't worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You're serving his pleasure, not yours.

4 The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, "What are you doing?"

5 Carrying out orders won't hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately.

6 Yes, there's a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part.

7 It's true that no one knows what's going to happen, or when. Who's around to tell us?

8 No one can control the wind or lock it in a box. No one has any say-so regarding the day of death. No one can stop a battle in its tracks. No one who does evil can be saved by evil.

9 All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that's going on in this world. As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.

10 One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies - and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed.

11 ecause the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in general think they can get by with murder.

12 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence,

13 and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow - because he doesn't fear God.

14 Here's something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what's coming to the wicked, and bad people get what's coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It's smoke.

15 So, I'm all for just going ahead and having a good time - the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time - compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.

16 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking,

17 you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.

New Living Translation NLT

1 How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person’s face, softening its harshness.

2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would.

3 Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants.

4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it.

5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right,

6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen?

8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other.

10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.

11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.

13 The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

14 And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

15 So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

16 In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night.

17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.