Ecclesiastes 8:1-8

1Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.

Obey the King 2Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3Do 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.

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

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

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

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

8As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and 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.