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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Ecclesiastes 8 New American Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ecclesiastes/8.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/ecclesiastes/8-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NABRE</a> > Ecclesiastes 8</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../ecclesiastes/7.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 7">◄</a> Ecclesiastes 8 <a href="../ecclesiastes/9.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 9">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New American Bible Revised Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><section id="ch25008" class="chapter"> <h1 id="cn25008" class="cn"></h1> <section> <h2 class="ahaft">Critique of Advice to Heed Authority</h2> <div class="senseline"> <p class="slf"><span id="v25008001" class="ver">1</span><a id="rfn25008001-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn25008001-1">*</a> Who is like the wise person,</p> <p class="sl1">and who knows the explanation of things?</p> <p class="sl">Wisdom illumines the face</p> <p class="sl1l">and transforms a grim countenance.</p> </div> <p><span id="v25008002" class="ver">2</span>Observe the command of the king, in view of your oath to God. <span id="v25008003" class="ver">3</span>Be not hasty to withdraw from the king; do not persist in an unpleasant situation, for he does whatever he pleases. <span id="v25008004" class="ver">4</span>His word is sovereign, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”</p> <p><span id="v25008005" class="ver">5</span><a id="rfn25008005-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn25008005-1">*</a> <a id="ren25008005-a" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en25008005-a">a</a> “Whoever observes a command knows no harm, and the wise heart knows times and judgments.” <span id="v25008006" class="ver">6</span><a id="ren25008006-b" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en25008006-b">b</a> Yes, there is a time and a judgment for everything. But it is a great evil for mortals <span id="v25008007" class="ver">7</span><a id="ren25008007-c" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en25008007-c">c</a> that they are ignorant of what is to come; for who will make known to them how it will be? <span id="v25008008" class="ver">8</span>No one is master of the breath of life so as to retain it, and none has mastery of the day of death. There is no exemption in wartime, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. <span id="v25008009" class="ver">9</span>All these things I saw and I applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun, while one person tyrannizes over another for harm.</p> <p class="psec"><span class="hemb">The Problem of Retribution.</span> <span id="v25008010" class="ver">10</span>Meanwhile I saw the wicked buried. They would come and go from the holy place. But those were forgotten in the city who had acted justly. This also is vanity.<a id="rfn25008010-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn25008010-1">*</a> <span id="v25008011" class="ver">11</span>Because the sentence against an evil deed is not promptly executed, the human heart is filled with the desire to commit evil— <span id="v25008012" class="ver">12</span><a id="rfn25008012-1" class="fnref" href="footnotes.htm#fn25008012-1">*</a> because the sinner does evil a hundred times and survives. Though indeed I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, for their reverence toward him; <span id="v25008013" class="ver">13</span>and that it shall not be well with the wicked, who shall not prolong their shadowy days, for their lack of reverence toward God.</p> <p><span id="v25008014" class="ver">14</span>This is a vanity that occurs on earth: There are those who are just but are treated as though they had done evil, and those who are wicked but are treated as though they had done justly. This, too, I say is vanity. <span id="v25008015" class="ver">15</span><a id="ren25008015-d" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en25008015-d">d</a> Therefore I praised joy, because there is nothing better for mortals under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be joyful; this will accompany them in their toil through the limited days of life God gives them under the sun.</p> <p><span id="v25008016" class="ver">16</span>I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, though neither by day nor by night do one’s eyes see sleep, <span id="v25008017" class="ver">17</span><a id="ren25008017-e" class="enref" href="footnotes.htm#en25008017-e">e</a> and I saw all the work of God: No mortal can find out the work that is done under the sun. However much mortals may toil in searching, no one finds it out; and even if the wise claim to know, they are unable to find it out.</p> </section> </section> <br /><h1 class="cn"><a class="xref" href="intro.htm"><span class="ac">Book Introduction</span></a></h1><h1 class="cn"><a class="xref" href="footnotes.htm"><span class="ac">Footnotes</span></a></h1></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the <i>New American Bible, revised edition</i> © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../ecclesiastes/7.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ecclesiastes 7"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ecclesiastes 7" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ecclesiastes/9.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ecclesiastes 9"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ecclesiastes 9" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>