1 WHO is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2 I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
11 Because 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.
12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath 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 giveth him under the sun.
16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.

2I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.

3Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

4Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

5Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

6Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

7For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

8There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

9All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

10And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

11Because 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.

12Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

14There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

15Then I commended mirth, because a man hath 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 giveth him under the sun.

16When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)

17Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

I == Prov 4:8-9 ; 17:24

II == 1st Chr 29:24 ; Ezek 17:18 ; Rom 13:5

III == Eccl 10:4

IV == Job 34:18

VI == Eccl 3:1

VII == Prov 24:22 ; Eccl 6:12 ; 9:12 ; 10:14

VIII == Job 14:5 ; Ps 49:6-7

XI == Ps 10:6 ; 50:21 ; Isa 26:10

XII == Ps 37:11 , 18-19 ; Prov 1:32-33 ; Isa 3:10-11 ; 65:20 ; Matt 25:34 , 41 ; Rom 2:5

XIV == Ps 73:14 ; Eccl 2:14 ; 7::15 ; 9:1-3

XV == Eccl 2:24 ; 3:12 , 22 ; 5:18 ; 9:7

XVII == Job 5:9 ; Ps 73:16 ' Eccl 3:11 ; Rom 11:33

1 Who is like the wise man, and who knows the explanation of things? A man's wisdom illumines his face, but an impudent look is resented.

2 Observe the precept of the king, and in view of your oath to God,

3 be not hasty to withdraw from the king; do not join in with a base plot, for he does whatever he pleases,

4 because his word is sovereign, and who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

5 "He who keeps the commandment experiences no evil, and the wise man's heart knows times and judgments;

6 for there is a time and a judgment for everything." - Yet it is a great affliction for man

7 that he is ignorant of what is to come; for who will make known to him how it will be?

8 There is no man who 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 from the struggle, nor are the wicked saved by their wickedness.

9 All these things I considered and I applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun, while one man tyrannizes over another to his hurt.

10 Meanwhile I saw wicked men approach and enter; and as they left the sacred place, they were praised in the city for what they had done. This also is vanity.

11 Because the sentence against evildoers is not promptly executed, therefore the hearts of men are filled with the desire to commit evil - 

12 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;

13 and that it shall not be well with the wicked man, and he shall not prolong his shadowy days, for his lack of reverence toward God.

14 This is a vanity which occurs on earth: there are just men treated as though they had done evil and wicked men treated as though they had done justly. This, too, I say is vanity.

15 Therefore I commend mirth, because there is nothing good for man under the sun except eating and drinking and mirth: for this is the accompaniment of his toil during the limited days of the life which God gives him under the sun.

16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe what is done on earth,

17 I recognized that man is unable to find out all God's work that is done under the sun, even though neither by day nor by night do his eyes find rest in sleep. However much man toils in searching, he does not find it out; and even if the wise man says that he knows, he is unable to find it out.

v 1-9. A wise man can avoid the king’s wrath by behaving himself decorously in not being hasty and obeying his commands. There is a time for everything, but it is not in the power of man to preserve his life or escape the consequences of wickedness.

v 10-15. It is frustrating when judgment isn’t immediate to see the wicked die unpunished. Still, Solomon knew that eventually the wicked, no matter how sinful would be punished, but the righteous would be exalted. As he thought more on it, he knew of just men who suffered and wicked men who prospered, so he recommended enjoying day by day the things the Lord had provided. (Not frivolous bingeing.} 

v 16,17. In view of all the seeming contradictions he had seen, he concluded that man can not understand God’s ways, which are higher than ours, Isa. 55:9; Ro. 11:33.