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 {Hebrew: strength.}hardness of his face is changed.
I counsel thee, Keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
For the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment:
for to every {Or, matter}purpose there is a time and judgment; because the {Or, evil}misery of man is great upon him:
for he knoweth not that which shall be; {Or, for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him?}for who can tell him how it shall be?
There is no man that hath power over the {Or, wind}spirit to retain the {Or, wind}spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge {Or, in battle}in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: {Or, what time one man had &c.}there is a time wherein one man hath power over another {Or, to his own hurt}to his hurt.
So I saw the wicked buried, {Or, who had come and gone away from the holy place; and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done Or, and men came and went &c.}and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is {Or, emboldened}fully set in them to do evil.
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him:
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 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.
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: {Or, and that this should accompany him}for that shall abide with him in his labor all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the {Or, travail}business that is done upon the earth ( {Or, how that neither by day nor by night do men see sleep with their eyes}for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes),
then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Querverweise zu Prediger 8,8 Pred 8,8
Who knoweth the spirit {Hebrew: of the sons of men.}of man, {Or, that goeth}whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, {Or, that goeth}whether it goeth downward to the earth?
it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted at them;
for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.
And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.
The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol,Even all the nations that forget God.
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.
for he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. For we also are weak {Many ancient authorities read with.}in him, but we shall live with him through the power of God toward you.
And they went after them unto the Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
God will likewise {Or, break thee down}destroy thee for ever;He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent,And root thee out of the land of the living. [Selah
The righteous also shall see it, and fear,And shall laugh at him, saying,
Lo, this is the man that made not God his {Or, stronghold}strength,But trusted in the abundance of his riches,And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
Seeing his days are determined,The number of his months is with thee,And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
Surely thou settest them in slippery places:Thou castest them down to {Hebrew: ruins.}destruction.
How are they become a desolation in a moment!They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As a dream when one awaketh,So, O Lord, {Or, in the city}when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
For my soul was {Hebrew: was in a ferment.}grieved,And I was pricked in my {Hebrew: reins.}heart:
So brutish {Or, am}was I, and ignorant;I was as a beast {Hebrew: with thee.}before thee.
Nevertheless I am continually with thee:Thou hast holden my right hand.
Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel,And afterward receive me {Or, with}to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee?And there is none upon earth that I desire {Or, with thee}besides thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth;But God is the {Hebrew: rock.}strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
But it is good for me to draw near unto God:I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge,That I may tell of all thy works.
{According to another reading, If he cause his heart to return unto himself.}If he set his heart upon {Or, man Hebrew: him.}himself,If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
The wicked is thrust down in his {Or, calamity}evil-doing;But the righteous hath a refuge in his death.
They that trust in their wealth,And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
None of them can by any means redeem his brother,Nor give to God a ransom for him;
(For the redemption of their life is costly,And it faileth for ever),
That he should still live alway,That he should not see {Or, the pit}corruption.
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
What man is he that shall live and not see death,That shall deliver his soul from the {Hebrew: hand.}power of Sheol? [Selah
And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
And inasmuch as it is {Greek: laid up for. Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:8}appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;