1 ¶ Who is as the wise man? and who is as he who knows the interpretation of all things? The wisdom of this man shall make his face to shine, and the coarseness of his face shall be changed.

Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his countenance is changed.

2 I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment and the word of the covenant that thou hast made with God.

I counsel you to keep the king’s command, and that in regard to the oath of God.

3 D o not be hasty to rebel against him; do not persist in any evil thing, for he shall do whatsoever pleases him;

Be not panic-stricken and hasty to get out of his presence. Persist not in an evil thing, for he does whatever he pleases.

4 b ecause the word of the king is his power and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

For the word of a king is authority and power, and who can say to him, What are you doing?

5 W hosoever keeps the commandment shall experience no evil thing, and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment.

Whoever observes the command will experience no harm, and a wise man’s mind will know both when and what to do.

6 ¶ Because for every will there is time and judgment, because the evil of man is great upon him,

For every purpose and matter has its time and judgment, although the misery and wickedness of man lies heavily upon him.

7 f or he does not know that which shall be; nor when it shall be. Who will teach it to him?

For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how and when it will be?

8 T here is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death, and weapons are of no use in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

There is no man who has power over the spirit to retain the breath of life, neither has he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in battle, neither will wickedness deliver those who are its possessors and given to it.

9 ¶ All this I have seen and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: the time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

All this have I seen while applying my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his own hurt or to the other man’s.

10 T hen I also saw that the wicked who were buried came into remembrance more than those who had frequented the holy place, and these were forgotten in the city where they had worked uprightly. This also is vanity.

And so I saw the wicked buried—those who had come and gone out of the holy place, and they are forgotten in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility)!

11 B ecause the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.

12 T hough a sinner does evil one hundred times and his judgment is prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those that fear God, who fear before his presence;

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with those who fear God, who revere and worship Him, realizing His continual presence.

13 b ut it shall never be well with the wicked, neither shall his days be prolonged, which are as a shadow, because he did not fear before the presence of God.

But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear and worship God.

14 ¶ There is another vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are just men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the righteous; I say that this also is vanity.

Here also is a futility that goes on upon the earth: there are righteous men who fare as though they were wicked, and wicked men who fare as though they were righteous. I say that this also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!

15 T herefore I commended joy because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun.

Then I commended enjoyment, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be joyful, for that will remain with him in his toil through the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

16 T herefore I applied mine heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done upon the earth (for also there is he that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes).

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the business activity and the painful effort that take place upon the earth—how neither day nor night some men’s eyes sleep—

17 A nd I have seen regarding all the works of God that man cannot attain to understand the work that is being done under the sun, because though a man labours to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; even though the wise man says that he knows it, yet he shall not be able to attain it.

Then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun—because however much a man may toil in seeking, yet he will not find it out; yes, more than that, though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, yet will he not be able to find it out.