| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam. | 1Who 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. |
| 2I say, "Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God. | 2Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God. |
| 3"Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases." | 3Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. |
| 4Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, "What are you doing?" | 4For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” |
| 5He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. | 5Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. |
| 6For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man's trouble is heavy upon him. | 6For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. |
| 7If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? | 7Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come? |
| 8No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it. | 8As no man has power over the wind 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. |
| 9All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt. | 9All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment. |
| 10So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. | 10Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile. |
| 11Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. | 11When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil. |
| 12Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. | 12Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence. |
| 13But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God. | 13Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. |
| 14There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. | 14There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. |
| 15So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. | 15So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun. |
| 16When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), | 16When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night— |
| 17and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, "I know," he cannot discover. | 17I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. |
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