Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. New Living Translation None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. English Standard Version No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. Berean Standard Bible As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. King James Bible 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. New King James Version No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it. New American Standard Bible No one has authority over the wind to restrain the wind, nor authority over the day of death; and there is no military discharge in the time of war, and evil will not save those who practice it. NASB 1995 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it. NASB 1977 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it. Legacy Standard Bible There is no man who has power to restrain the wind with the wind, and there is none who has power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and wickedness will not provide escape to its masters. Amplified Bible There is no man who has power and authority over the wind to restrain the wind, Nor does he have authority over the day of death; There is no discharge [from service] during time of war, And evil will not rescue those who [actively seek to] practice it. Christian Standard Bible No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; no one is discharged during battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. Holman Christian Standard Bible No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. American Standard Version There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. Contemporary English Version We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death. There is no escape in time of war, and no one can hide behind evil. English Revised Version There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. GOD'S WORD® Translation No one has the power to prevent the spirit of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war [against death]. Wickedness will not save wicked people [from dying]. Good News Translation No one can keep from dying or put off the day of death. That is a battle we cannot escape; we cannot cheat our way out. International Standard Version Just as no human being has control over the wind to restrain it, so also no human being has control over the day of his death. Just as no one is discharged during war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. Majority Standard Bible As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. NET Bible Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, so no one has power over the day of his death. Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. New Heart English Bible There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it. Webster's Bible Translation 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. World English Bible There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionThere is no man ruling over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and there is no authority over the day of death, and there is no discharge in battle, and wickedness does not deliver its possessors. Young's Literal Translation There is no man ruling over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and there is no authority over the day of death, and there is no discharge in battle, and wickedness delivereth not its possessors. Smith's Literal Translation No man having power in spirit to restrain the spirit: and no power in the day of death: and no sending forth in war; and injustice shall not deliver its possessors. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleIt is not in man's power to stop the spirit, neither hath he power in the day of death, neither is he suffered to rest when war is at hand, neither shall wickedness save the wicked. Catholic Public Domain Version It is not in the power of a man to prohibit the spirit, nor does he have authority over the day of death, nor is he permitted to rest when war breaks out, and neither will impiety save the impious. New American Bible No one 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 in wartime, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. New Revised Standard Version No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the day of death; there is no discharge from the battle, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleThere is no man who has power over the wind to withhold the wind; neither has he power over the day of death; and there is no escape from duty in the day of battle; neither shall wickedness deliver those who are given to it. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated There is no man who is authorized over the wind to withhold the wind, and there is no authority in the day of death, and there is no escape in the day of war, and evil does not save its masters OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. Brenton Septuagint Translation There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Obey the King…7Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come? 8As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. 9All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.… Cross References Job 14:5 Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed, Psalm 49:7-9 No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. / For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, / that he should live on forever and not see decay. Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, James 4:14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Job 14:14 When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes. Psalm 89:48 What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Job 7:1 “Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? Psalm 39:5 You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Luke 12:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 2 Samuel 14:14 For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him. Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. Revelation 1:18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. Treasury of Scripture There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither has 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. is no Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 2 Samuel 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; power 1 Corinthians 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 2 Corinthians 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. discharge Deuteronomy 20:1-8 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt… 2 Kings 7:15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. neither Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Psalm 52:5-7 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah… Psalm 73:18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. Jump to Previous Authority Battle Contain Control Death Deliver Discharge Discharged Evil Free Power Practice Restrain Retain Ruler Safe Sinner Spirit Time War Wickedness WindJump to Next Authority Battle Contain Control Death Deliver Discharge Discharged Evil Free Power Practice Restrain Retain Ruler Safe Sinner Spirit Time War Wickedness WindEcclesiastes 8 1. true wisdom is modest2. Kings are to be respected 6. Divine providence is to be observed 12. It is better with the godly in adversity, than with the wicked in prosperity 16. The work of God is unsearchable As no man has power over the wind to contain it The Hebrew word for "wind" here is "ruach," which can also mean "spirit" or "breath." This dual meaning emphasizes the uncontrollable nature of both the physical and spiritual realms. In ancient times, the wind was seen as a force beyond human control, symbolizing the limits of human power and understanding. This phrase reminds us of God's sovereignty over creation, as He alone commands the winds and the seas (Mark 4:39). It serves as a humbling reminder that despite human advancements, there are elements of life that remain beyond our grasp, urging us to trust in God's ultimate authority. so no one has power over the time of his death No one is discharged in time of war and wickedness will not release those who practice it Discharge.--Elsewhere only (Psalm 78:49) where it is translated "sending." Verse 8. - This verse gives the conclusion of the line of argument which confirms the last clause of ver. 5. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit. If we take "spirit" in the sense of "the breath of life," explaining the clause to mean that the mightiest despot has no power to retain life when his call comes, we have the same thought repeated virtually in the next clause. It is therefore bettor to take ruach in the sense of "wind" (Genesis 8:1). No one can control the course of the wind or know its way (comp. Ecclesiastes 11:5, where the same ambiguity exists; Proverbs 30:4). Koheleth gives here four impossibilities which point to the conclusion already given. The first is man's inability to check the viewless wind or to know whence it comes or whither it goes (John 3:8). Equally impotent is the tyrant to influence the drift of events that is bearing him on to his end. God's judgments are often likened to a wind (see Isaiah 41:16; Wisd. 4:4 Wisd. 5:23). Neither hath he power in the day of death; rather, over the day of death. The second impossibility concerns the averting the hour of death. Whether it comes by sickness, or accident, or design, the despot must succumb; he can neither foresee nor ward it off (1 Samuel 26:10, "The Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and perish;" Ecclus. 14:12, "Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not showed unto thee"). And there is no discharge in that war. The word rendered "discharge" (mishlachath) is found elsewhere only in Psalm 78:49, where it is translated "sending," "mission," or "band." The Septuagint here has ἀποατολή; the Vulgate Nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello. The Authorized Version is doubtless correct, though there is no need to insert the pronoun "that." The severity of the law of military service is considered analogously with the inexorable law of death. The Hebrew enactment (Deuteronomy 20:5-8) allowed exemption in certain cases; but the Persian rule was inflexibly rigid, permitting no furlough or evasion during an expedition. Thus we read that when (Eobazus, the father of three sons, petitioned Darius to leave him one at home, the tyrant replied that he would leave him all three, and had them put to death. Again, Pythius, a Lydian, asking Xerxes to exempt his eldest son from accompanying the army to Greece, was reviled by the monarch in unmeasured terms, and was punished for his presumption by seeing his son slain before his eyes, the body divided into two pieces, and placed on either side of the road by which the army passed, that all might be warned of the fate awaiting any attempt to evade military service (Herod., 4:84; 7:35). The passage in the text has a bearing on the authorship and date of our book, is as seems most probable, the reference is to the cruel discipline of Persia. This is the third impossibility; the fourth follows. Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it; its lord and master. Septuagint, τὸν παρ αὐτῆς, "its votary." Ginsburg translates resha "cunning;" but this seems foreign to the sentiment, which is concerned with the despot's impiety, injustice, and general wickedness, not with the means by which he endeavors to escape the reward of his deeds. The fact is, no evil despot, however reckless and imperious, can go long unpunished. He may say in his heart, "There is no God," or, "God hideth his face, and sees him not," but certain retribution awaits him, and may not be avoided. Says the gnome -Ἄγει τὸ θεῖον τοὺς κακοὺς πρὸς τὴν δίκνη. "Heaven drives the evil always unto judgment" Hebrew As noאֵ֣ין (’ên) Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle man אָדָ֞ם (’ā·ḏām) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being has power שַׁלִּ֤יט (šal·lîṭ) Adjective - masculine singular Strong's 7989: Having mastery, domineering over the wind בָּר֙וּחַ֙ (bā·rū·aḥ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common singular Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit to contain לִכְל֣וֹא (liḵ·lō·w) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 3607: To shut up, restrain, withhold [it], הָר֔וּחַ (hā·rū·aḥ) Article | Noun - common singular Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit so there is no וְאֵ֤ין (wə·’ên) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle authority שִׁלְטוֹן֙ (šil·ṭō·wn) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7983: Mastery over the day בְּי֣וֹם (bə·yō·wm) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 3117: A day of death. הַמָּ֔וֶת (ham·mā·weṯ) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4194: Death, the dead, their place, state, pestilence, ruin As no one וְאֵ֥ין (wə·’ên) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle can be discharged מִשְׁלַ֖חַת (miš·la·ḥaṯ) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 4917: A discharge, deputation, sending in wartime, בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה (bam·mil·ḥā·māh) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 4421: A battle, war so wickedness רֶ֖שַׁע (re·ša‘) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7562: Wickedness will not וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no release יְמַלֵּ֥ט (yə·mal·lêṭ) Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 4422: To be smooth, to escape, to release, rescue, to bring forth young, emit sparks those who practice it. בְּעָלָֽיו׃ (bə·‘ā·lāw) Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 1167: A master, a husband, owner Links Ecclesiastes 8:8 NIVEcclesiastes 8:8 NLT Ecclesiastes 8:8 ESV Ecclesiastes 8:8 NASB Ecclesiastes 8:8 KJV Ecclesiastes 8:8 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 8:8 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 8:8 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 8:8 French Bible Ecclesiastes 8:8 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man who has power (Ecclesiast. 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