1. Who is like the sage? Who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2. Keep the command of the king because of your oath to God.
3. Do not be terrified of his presence! Go at once and do not delay when a matter is unpleasant, for he can do anything that he desires.
4. Since the word of the king is supreme, no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5. Whoever obeys his command will not suffer disaster. The wise mind knows the proper time and the right procedure.
6. For there is a proper time and right procedure for every matter, even though the trouble of man weighs heavy upon him.
7. Surely no one knows what will be, so who can tell anyone what will happen?
8. Just as no one can control the wind to restrain the wind, so also no one can control the day of his death. Just as no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not deliver the wicked.
9. I saw all this as I applied my heart to all the deeds done under the sun: sometimes those in authority harm others.
10. Meanwhile, I saw the wicked being honorably buried, but those who came and went from the holy place were forgotten in the city, even though they had done so. This also is vanity!