VIII.  1.  Who is like the wise man?  And who knows what things mean?  A man's wisdom lights up his face, and the boldness of his face is transformed.  He had taught above that it is hard to find a good man, and he had answered the question to the contrary, saying that men are made good by God, but that they fall into sin because of their own free will.  Now he lists what qualities God has given to a good man, to show his glory: wisdom obviously, and reason and providence, and he knows that the secrets that are hidden by God enter his heart.  But he is also talking about himself here indirectly, because no one was as wise as Solomon was, and none answered the problems he set.   And because his wisdom was praised by all, wisdom which he not only carried on the inside, but also wore on the surface of his skin, and which shone from his face, he moreover imbued all men with the wisdom which shone forth from his visage.  Where we have, 'who is like the wise man?' the Septuagint reads: "who knows wise men?" and where we read, 'the boldness of his face is transformed', the Septuagint has, "and the unwise is disliked by his face".  And although in fact there are many, who engage themselves in the pursuit of wisdom, it is found with great difficulty, but he is able to tell a wise man though from those, who only seem to be wise.  Though too there are even many more, who say that they are able to let themselves tell the secrets of the Scriptures, it is not common however, that one will actually find the true answer.  But what follows- "the wisdom of a man will light up his face and the wicked is hated by his face" - can be explained in the way that Paul explains it: "but we all see the glory of God with our face uncovered"[1].  The writer of the Psalms also says, "the light of your face shines down upon us, O Lord"[2].  But he says that the wisdom of man is not different from the wisdom of God.  Although it is the wisdom of God, it then begins to be also a part of the human faculty, but only when it is in him who merits wisdom.  Every heretic, who defends his false doctrines, shows his foolishness on his face.  Then Marcion and Valentinus say that they are of a better nature than the Creator himself!  This can be seen in another way, if they contend to hope for this wisdom, but do not already possess it.   

2/4  I counsel you: Obey the king's command, and that in the manner of an oath of God.  Do not hasten to leave his presence, do not persist in an evil thing; for he can do whatever he pleases.  Since a king's word is law, who dare say to him, 'what are you doing?'  Here he seems to teach the same as the apostle - that we should obey kings and rulers, which is set out in the Septuagint as a command: "guard the command of the king"; but personally I think he is now talking about that king about whom David says, "Lord, the king will be happy in your virtue"[3].  And in another passage, where it means the one reign of the Father and of the Son, the text reads, "God, give your judgement to the king, and your righteousness to the son of the king".[4]  For the Father does not judge each one, but gives each judgement to the Son.  Moreover, that king who is the Son of God, is the son of the Father who is the King.  Therefore His precepts should be kept, His will done.  And this is exactly what is written in the book of Tobit: "it is good to hide the secret of the king"[5].  He warns in particular why we should not ask why God has taught every single thing, but see that teaching as a commandment, and this is what an impious man hastens to fulfil.  Then let his will be the same as that of God's law.  But because the Septuagint translates this differently, saying, "do not hasten to run away from God's presence", nor his judgement or his word, you must know that God's judgement is written in the divine will.  Therefore we ought not to recount to anyone or make public this judgement, which is taken to be sacred and secret from the word of God, nor should we form rash opinions from it.  We should not, too, hasten like Moses, to see the face of God, but rather wait a while until He Himself passes by and then we will only see Him passing.  Nor too should we do what follows: do not persist in an evil thing, and so on, especially as we understand, like one who has already come into the madness of heresy, or as he, who although having faith in the Church, is still overcome by sins, so that he is unfaithful.  Do not persevere in what is wrong, or in swearing, indulgence, greed, or lust.  For if you do the king of vices and devil of sins will fashion in you your end, and he will be able to do whatever he wants with you.

5.  He who obeys the commandment will know no evil; and a wise man will know time and justice.  Notice here in particular that 'he will know no evil' has been written instead of 'he will not suffer' or even 'evil will not be in him'.  Likewise it has also been written about the Saviour, "for he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin."[6]  Instead of 'evil' too Symmachus interprets this phrase as saying, "he who keeps the commandment will experience no wickedness".  But he teaches that we should keep the command of a king, and know why and when he orders.  

6/7.  For everything has its time and justice, for man's evil overwhelms him.  Indeed he does not know what will happen, for when it happens , who will tell him?  Many good and bad things can befall a man, but even a righteous man is not able to know what will befall him, or know the causes and reasons for each thing, (for no one can know what will happen), but he does know that all things are done by God to the advantage of man, and nothing is done without His will.  For this is a great sufferance for mankind, since as the poet says: "the mind of man knows not his lot and coming fate"[7].  If he hopes for one thing, then another happens; he expects the enemy to come from one direction and is wounded by a spear from the opposite direction.  But here Theodotion and the Septuagint have said, "since the knowledge of man overwhelms him", the Hebrew has 'wickedness' not 'knowledge'.  But because the Hebrew letters 'Resh' and 'Daleth' are similar without the serif, instead of raath they have read daat, that is instead of 'wickedness', 'knowledge'.  This is easier to understand if you have knowledge of the language.  Note too, that which is written at the end of the verse: 'since he doesn't know what has been, and what will be after him, who will tell him?'  I have translated word for word here from the Hebrew text, so that we can see that there is a different meaning, since we are clearly not able to know those things which have already passed away, or those that will be, as they have yet to be done.

8.  Man is powerless over the spirit-to restrain the spirit; nor is there authority over the day of death; nor discharge in war; and wickedness cannot save the wrong-doer.  Our mind does not have the power to prevent the spirit from being taken from us, and when the spirit leaves to the realm of God, it helps nothing to shut out mouth and hold in our fleeting life.  And when we are dead, the enemy of our life will come and we are not able to take any rest.  Note too the kings in one age, which destroying all our things irreligiously led us by the hands to our death, but we were taken into the ashes and the earth.  Therefore we must not mourn if we cannot know the future and we are often oppressed by more powerful and wicked men, for all things end in death: for the proud and the powerful the same end; he who has devastated all things does not deserve to keep his life when it is taken away.  Another meaning could be that the spirit that is the source of life cannot be prevented from leaving any man, this is the rule of mortality.  Above too he also spoke of this: "turning, turning goes the wind"[8].  We have no power in the day of our death, but when we are alive our enemy is easily avoided.  Similarly he who is in time of war and does not have the peace of God, which overpowers all feeling, he will not have any discharge therefrom, about which it is said to a bride, "your discharge is paradise with the fruit of apples"[9].  And because piety will not save him who has it, piety will save the opposite, and impiety can be called the Devil and piety our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9/11.  All this have I seen; and I applied my mind to see every deed that is done under the sun: there is a time when one man rules over another to his detriment.  And then I saw the wicked buried and newly come while those who had done right were gone from the Holy place and were forgotten in the city.  This too is vanity!  Because the sentence for wrong-doing is not executed quickly- that is why men are encouraged to do evil.  I have dedicated my heart, he says, that I should see all that is done under the sun, and this too, that man takes up arms against man, so that he afflicts and condemns those whom he wants.  And so when I began to look upon those things I saw that the impious were dead by such belief and buried, and were deemed holy in the earth, but those who were living were thought to be worthy of the Church, and the temple of God, the bombastic walking above were praised for their wickedness. "For the sinner is praised for the laxity of his soul, and he who is wicked is blessed"[10].  But this happens moreover because no one dares to confront sinners and God does not immediately give punishment for crimes, but rather postpones, so that we must await our repentance.  But since those who sin are not immediately arrested and accused, they think with little regard that their judgement will be in the future, and continue in their crime.  We can see how this evidence pertains to certain bishops, who come to power in the Church, and speak ill of those, which had taught and had urged them to follow better pursuits.  These men are very often praised after death in the Church, and blessed for those things, which they in all likelihood did not even do, or openly are warned by their successors or the congregation.  And even this is vanity, since while they live they do not heed advice and are not immediately visited for their sins, (since none dares accuse his superior), besides they act as if holy and blessed, and as if they are walking in the precepts of the Lord, and they increase their sins one on top of another.  Such an accusation of a bishop is difficult.  For you see, if he has sinned, it is not believed, and if he is accused, he is not punished.

12.  Because a sinner does what is wrong an hundred times and He is patient with him, yet nevertheless I am aware that it will be well with those who fear God that they may fear Him.  Because a sinner has done many wicked deeds, this is what is meant by, 'an hundred times': God gives a time for repentance, and does not punish him immediately for his crime, but he waits so that he is converted by his wickedness.  I understand how good-willing and forgiving God will be to those who fear Him and tremble at His word.  Symmachus translated this passage as, "For a sinner dies wicked, long-life is granted him".  More precisely I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear His face, but it will not be well for the wicked, and he will not live long, for he does not fear God.  And because what Symmachus translated is clear, we can say that the Hebrew word maath is what the Septuagint has translated as 'from then on', which we have here as 'an hundred times'.  Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion have interpreted 'he has died' as "he has sinned and done evil, and is dead", because for that which he sinned, he immediately dies.  But according to the interpretation of the Septuagint, instead of 'he is dead' we read 'from then on', and according to that interpretation, the meaning is, 'a sinner does not sin at first when he seems to sin, but already even before he has sinned': "Sinners are estranged from the womb, they have erred since they were in the stomach"[11].  And they ask this that follows- "they have spoken falsity", just as he explains for a simple understanding, there seems to be no reason that child sinners speak lies as soon as they come out of the womb.

13.  And it will not be well with the wicked, and he will not live long-like a shadow-because he does not fear God.  He invokes wickedness upon those who do not fear God, and desires that they do not wait long for their punishment, but rather are crucified and immediately put to death, this punishment is for those who merit such a death.  This is similar to what the apostle says: "I would that those who annoy us were put to death."[12]  And in another place "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil, may the Lord reward him according to his works."[13]  We must ask though how these things are said so mildly.  This is very true to the Hebrew meaning of this verse.  But we can follow the Septuagint's interpretation, which seems to take another meaning, and says, "and I know, since those who fear God will be well, that they fear his face, and the wicked will not be well, and his day will not be long in shadows, who does not fear God."  He could have said this: 'let there also be those things which I considered a little earlier', but I know clearly that those fearing God will be well; "for the face of God is above those who do wickedness"[14].  And the wicked will not be well, for he does not fear God and his days will not be longer in shadows.  This is the day of his life, which is like a shadow for the living.  Not by this do those who live for a long time lengthen their days, but they make them great with the number of their good deeds.  As if confessing himself to be a sinner, Jacob says about this: "few and wicked are these days of mine"[15].  And confessing in the Psalm he says, "my days are inclined like shadows, and I am like the hay of the field"[16].  Not because he has sought a long life in the present world, in which all that we live is brief and looks lie shadow: "for man walks in His likeness"[17], but because he fears the future, lest the length of his life, if it is indeed life, should be short.

14.  There is a futility that takes place on earth: sometimes there are righteous men who are treated as if they had done according to the deeds of the wicked; and there are wicked men who are treated as if they had done the deeds of the righteous.  I declared, this, too, is vanity.  Amongst other vanities, which are borne in the world by good and bad events, even this I have found to be vain, since those things often happen to the righteous which ought to happen to the wicked, and the wicked live happily in the world that you would think that they were the more righteous!  He gives the example in the Gospel of the rich courtier and poor Lazarus.[18]  The seventy-second Psalm also talks about the matter of why bad things happen to good men and vice-versa.  But where we read, 'there is a futility that takes place on earth', Symmachus translates this fully, saying, "it is difficult to understand what is done on earth".  The Hebrews interpret the righteous who suffer wickedness as the sons of Aaron, and Manasseh, because the former died while sacrificing, and the latter was restored to power after much wickedness and captivity.

15.  So I praised enjoyment, for man has no other aim under the sun but to eat, drink, and be joyful; and this will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God has given him beneath the sun.  I have interpreted this more fully above, and now I shall just speak cursorily.  He is allowed to prefer to eat and drink, which is the enjoyment (and must be short and end quickly) in the dire-straits of his life, and in light of those things, which are seen to happen unfairly in the world, (since man seems to have only this in return for his toil), he enjoys only modest recompense.  But if the interpretation is read in the way it has been written, it reproves the wretched, the fasting and the hungry, the thirsty and the mourners, whom the Lord calls blessed in the Gospel[19].  And we regard food and drink spiritually and above this happiness, which we are scarcely able to find in the toil of our life.  But because these things are expressed in this way, as I have said, the following verse shows this too, which says, "I dedicated my heart to seeing wisdom and work", since clearly men work on earth, and consider deeply the Scriptures day and night in this way so that sleep flees from their eyes, in return for their study.

16/17.  When I applied my heart to see wisdom and work which takes place on earth- for even day or night its eyes see no sleep.  And I perceived all the work of God.  Indeed man cannot fathom the events that occur under the sun, inasmuch as man tries strenuously to search, but cannot fathom it.  And even though a wise man should presume to know, he cannot know it.  He searches for the causes and understanding of the world, why this or that is done, and for what reason the world is steered by good or bad turns of events; why one is born blind and frail, another born healthy and with sight; why one is poor, another rich; why one is of high birth, another inglorious.  Nothing else is of use, unless he is tortured in his search, and has an argument instead of anguish, but he does not find what he is looking for.  And when he says that he knows, then he has the beginning of ignorance in him, and starts to sink into deeper madness.  But he shows later that justice is the cause of all things, why things happen the way they do, but that those causes hide in secret and are not able to be understood by men.