“Every matter has its time,
Every matter has its way,
Even though the troubles of mortals
Lie heavy upon them.
Indeed they do not know
What is to be.
Who can tell him
How it will be?
No one has power over the wind,
To restrain the wind.
No one has power over the day of death.
There is no discharge from the battle.
Wickedness does not deliver
Those who practice it.
All this I observed.
I applied my mind to all
That is done
Under the sun.
One person exercises authority over another
To the other’s hurt.”
You have to know the right time and the correct way to do things. Those with wisdom will be able to do these things. No knows how to stop the wind or the day of their death. You cannot be excused from the battle. Wickedness has its own reward. Qoheleth knows all about these things because he observed them. He saw how one person exercised authority over another that caused harm. That is our way of life under the sun.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 