Who is like the wise, who reads a matter? Wisdom changes hardness in the face. Keep the ruler's word because of solemn promise; Do not hurry toward a dangerous cause. The king's command carries earthly power; Still every purpose has its time and judgment. No one knows the future before it reaches; No one commands the wind or day of death. Though sentence against evil may be delayed, Delay can make the human heart grow bold. A sinner may repeat the wrong a hundred times And still extend his years beneath the sun. Yet it will be well with those who fear God; The wicked cannot make their shadow last. I have seen the righteous treated like the wicked, And the wicked honored as though they were just. This is another vapor in the world. So I commended joy within our portion: Eat and drink with gratitude while laboring; Let gladness walk beside the work God gives. I gave my heart to understand the matter, Watching sleepless work by night and day. Then I saw that no one can discover All the work of God beneath the sun. The wise may say they know it, Yet they cannot search the whole of it.