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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 ^[a]hardness of his face is changed. ² I counsel thee, Keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God. ³ Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. ⁴ For the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? ⁵ Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment: ⁶ for to every ^[b]purpose there is a time and judgment; because the ^[c]misery of man is great upon him: ⁷ for he knoweth not that which shall be; ^[d]for who can tell him how it shall be? ⁸ There is no man that hath power over the ^[e]spirit to retain the ^[f]spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge ^[g]in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. ⁹ All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: ^[h]there is a time wherein one man hath power over another ^[i]to his hurt. ¹⁰ So I saw the wicked buried, ^[j]and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity. ¹¹ Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is ^[k]fully set in them to do evil. ¹² Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that 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 are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are 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 joyful: ^[l]for that shall abide with him in his labor all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun. ¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the ^[m]business that is done upon the earth ^[n](for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes), ¹⁷ then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.