Ecclesiastes 8:1-8

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.

2Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God. 3Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

5Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. 6For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. 7Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?

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.